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FAMOUS  GENERALS 
OF  THE  GREAT  WAR 


FAMOUS  LEADERS  SERIES 

Each,  one  volume,  illiistrated  $2.00 
BY 

CHARLES    L.    JOHNSTON 
FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS 
FAMOUS  SCOUTS 
FAMOUS  CAVALRY  LEADERS 
FAMOUS  PRIVATEERSMEN 
FAMOUS  FRONTIERSMEN 
FAMOUS  DISCOVERERS   and   EX- 
PLORERS of  AMERICA 
FAMOUS     GENERALS     OF     THE 
GREAT  WAR 
J> 
BY 

EDWIN   WILDMAN 
FAMOUS  LEADERS  of  INDUSTRY 

THE    PAGE    COMPANY 
53    Beacon    Street,    Boston,    Mass. 


FERDINAND    FOCH 

(See  page  90) 


Famous  Generals 

OF   THE 

Great  War 

WHO    LED    THE     UNITED     STATES    AND     HER 
ALLIES    TO    A    GLORIOUS    VICTORY 


By 
CHARLES   H.   L.   JOHNSTON 

Author  of  "Famous  Scouts,"   "Famous  Indian   Chiefs, 
"Famous  Cavalry  Leaders,"  "Famous  Frontiersmen," 
"Famous  Prlvateersmen,"  "Famous  Discoverers 
and  Explorers  of  America,"  etc. 


Illustrated 


BOSTON.  ^        THE    PAGE 

COMPANY.    ^       PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1919, 
By  The  Page  Company 

All  rights  reserved 


First   Impression,    September,    1919 
Second  Impression,  June.  1920 


THE  COLONIAL  PRESS 
C.  H.  3IM0NDS   COMPANY,  BOSTON,  U.  S.  A. 


o 


•  TO  QUENTIN  EOOSEVELT: 

BURIED    IN    FRANCE 

^  Son  of  a  fighting  sire, 

<  Bred  from  a  vent'rous  strain, 

CQ  Your  eagle-blood  has  paid  the  price, 

•-1  You  lie  among  the  slain. 

On  fleeting  plane  you  met  your  death. 
You  fell  from  cloudy  space, 
^  Your  bleeding  form  lies  where  you  struck, 

o}  Scion  of  a  battling  race. 


Here's  to  you!  noble-hearted  youth! — 

The  world  needs  men  like  you; 
Here's  to  your  crushed  and  bleeding  form. 

Hurled  crashing  from  the  blue! 
With  reverent  hands  we'll  place  a  stone. 

Where  you  lie  cold  and  gray ; 
A  tribute  of  ouf  debt  to  France, — 

Which  you  helped  to  repay. 


PKEFACE 

My  dear  Boys: 

The  world  conflict,  which  has  happily  come  to  a 
close,  was  the  greatest  and  the  most  destructive  war 
of  all  history,  for  the  engines  of  destruction — contrived 
by  the  mind  of  man — are  now  more  ruinous  than  ever 
before.  Millions  of  human  beings  have  been  destroyed 
because  of  the  unbridled  ambition  of  one  man,  assisted 
by  his  adherents  and  counselors.  Thousands  of  peace- 
ful homes  have  been  laid  waste,  and  the  wreckage  of 
battle  is  strewn  over  the  once  quiet  fields  of  France,  of 
Belgium,  of  Poland,  Russia,  Turkey,  Bulgaria,  Servia, 
and  Palestine. 

In  this  book  I  have  written  of  the  more  prominent 
generals  of  the  Allied  forces,  who,  leading  the  armies 
of  millions,  have  crushed  the  mailed  fist  of  Germany, 
raised  to  enslave  the  world  beneath  the  Teutonic  flag. 
These  men  have  seen  suffering,  death,  privation,  want, 
and  destruction.  They  have  led  the  forces  of  anti- 
Germans  to  a  successful  victory,  and  are  worthy  of 
permanent  recognition  by  the  historian. 

Trusting  that  these  essays  will  prove  both  interesting 
and  instructive, 
I  beg  to  remain. 

Always  affectionately  yours, 

Charles  H.  L.  Johnston. 
Chevy  Chase,  Md., 

June,  1919. 

vii 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface vii 

The  Devil  Dogs ix 

"Papa"  Jofpre:  Hero  of  the  Battle  of  the 
Marne 3 

Sir  John  French:  The  Ma>  Who  Led  the  First 

British  Army 29 

King  Albert  of  Belgium  :  The  Ruler  Who  "Came 
Back" 71 

Ferdinand   Foch:    Commander-in-Chief   of    the 

Allies     .      : 87 

Sir  Douglas  Haig:  Commander  of  the  British 
Forces  in  France 115 

John  J.  Persuing:  Commander  of  the  Army  of 

the  Unitkd  States 141 

Henri  P.  Petain:  Defender  of  Verdun   .      .     .  171 

Armando  Diaz:  Commander  of  the  Victorious 
Armies  of  Italy 185 

Sir  Edmund  Allenby,  K.C.B.  :  The  Conqueror  of 
Jerusalem 203 

Sir  Stanley  Maude  :  Another  Kitchener  ,      .      .  217 

Franchet  D  'Esperey  :  Hero  of  the  Balkan  Cam- 
paign        235 

Edouard  De  Curieres  De  Castelnau:  The  De- 
fender OF  Nancy 2-51 

Jan  Smuts:  Leader  of  the  British  Forces  in 
South  Africa 267 

Sir  Julian  H.  Byng:  The  Man  Who  Led  the 
Smash  at  Cambrai 291 


LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Ferdinand  Foch    (See  page  90) 

"Papa"   Joffre    . 

Sir   John    French 

King   Albert 

Sir  Douglas   Haig 

John  J.   Pershing 

James  G.   Harboard 

Henri   P.   Petain 

Maurice    P.    Serrail 

Armando  Diaz 

Sir  Edmund  Allenby 

Sir  Stanley   Maude 

Franchet  D'Esperey 

Edouard  De  Curieres  de  Castelnau 

Jan  Smuts  . 

Sir  Julian  H.  Byng 


Frontispiece 

.  6 

.  32 

.  74 

.  118 

.  14G 

.  151 

.  172 

.  175 

.  190 

.  204 

.  218 

.  240 

.  258 

.  269 

.  292 


THE  DEVIL  DOGS 

We're  first  to  fight  on  land  and  sea,  so  say  the  posters 

plain, 
We're  always  in  the  thick  of  it,  and  slay  or  else  are 

slain ; 
We're  always  where  there's  trouble,  we're  where  the 

minnies  sing, 
And  we  scud  like  rakish  clipper  ships,  when  running 

wing-and-wing. 

We  draw  our  men  from  every  walk,  from  east,  south, 

north  and  west; 
We  marshal  them  from  every  state  to  man  the  "buzzard's 

nest." 
We  have  some  "  jays  "  from  Arkansas,  we  have  some 

"  rubes  "  from  Maine, 
But  we're  all  alike,  from  officer  down  to  the  each  rookie 

plain. 

We're  always  at  the  beck  and  call  of  someone  higher  up ; 
We're  always  straightening  some  one  out,  when  some  one 

runs  amiick ; 
We're  always  going  off  somewhere,  we're  always  coming 

back. 
But  we  always  finish  up  the  job,  before  our  guns  we 

stack, 

ix 


X  THE  DEVIL  DOGS 

So,  when  this  trouble  started  and  the  Boche  began  to 

fight, 
And  when  the  Kaiser  blazoned  forth  that  German  Might 

was  Right, 
Of  course  they  sent  at  once  for  us, — they  had  to,  don't 

you  see, 
For  we're  used  to  just  this  sort  of  thing,  we  soldiers  of 

the  sea. 

We  steamed  at  once  for  sunny  France,  we  marched 

through  gay  Paree, 
The  people  liked  to  see  us,  for, — we're  Hell  Hounds  of 

the  sea. 
We  tramped  in  columns  down  the  Bois,  we  hit  the  trail 

just  east, 
And  we  knew  we'd  soon  have  trouble  with  the  blatant 

German  beast. 

They  hiked  us  towards  the  firing  line,  to  a  little,  gray 

Chateau, 
Where  the  German  guns  were  growling,  and  their  shells 

were  whining :     "  Go  !  " 
They  camped  us  in  a  chicken-yard  and  some  one  said: 

"Hold  hard; 
For  to-morrow  we  will  hit  the  Boche  and  fill  a  new 

grave-yard." 

So  each  man  prayed  his  solenm  prayer,  and  each  man 
cinched  his  belt. 


THE  DEVIL  DOGS  xi 

And  each  one  oiled  his  rifle,  and  chucked  his  hat  of 

felt, 
And  each  one  donned  a  top  of  steel,  and  grinned  from 

ear  to  ear, 
For  he  knew  the  day  had  now  arrived  to  move  Fritz  to 

the  rear. 

Next  morn  the  guns  were  thundering  to  lay  down  our 

barrage ; 
]^ext  morn  the  Boches  gathered  thick  to  make  their  final 

charge ; 
l^ext  mom  we  saw  them  coming  on — they  sure  were 

fighting  mad ; 
And  then  we  got  the  word  to  "FIEE!"  and  we  gave 

them  all  we  had. 

YE  GODS !     They  fell  down  rank  on  rank,  our  lead 

was  something  fierce ; 
Their  blooming  ofiicers  were  there  to  yell  and  cry  out: 

"  Pierce ! 
Go  through  these  blooming  Yankees !     Eight  on  to  gay 

Paree !  " 
But  the  dirty  knaves  had  missed  their  guess,  our  lead 

was  quite  too  free. 

And  then  the  bugle  shrilled  the  charge, — we  were  at 

them  with  a  yell. 
Which  sounded  like  a  war-whoop  from  some  western, 

red-man's  dell : 


xii  THE  DEVIL  DOGS 

We  piled  them  up  by  thousands,   and  we  kept  them 

moving  fast, 
Until  we  got  the  word  to  halt  to  keep  from  being  gassed. 

The  next  day  some  one  chanced  to  say  we'd  fought  at 

Chateau-Thierry, 
We  paid  no  heed  to  that  at  all,  we  were  too  dog-gono 

weary ; 
'Next    day    a    Boche    came    to    our    lines,    and    said: 

"  You're  Teufel  Hunden  !  " 
Which    means,     we're     fighting     Dovil      Hogs,     *' niit 

Schmelz  und  Hell  gefunden." 

Yes,  yes,  I  guess  they  named  us  right,  for  that's  where 

Fritz  stood  still, 
Next  day  he  moved   quite  backward,   for  he'd   liad   a 

nauseous  pill : 
He  kept  on  marching  backward,  'til  he  rested  at  Sedan, 
For  well  he  knew  that  he  at  last  had  met  the  better 

man! 

So,  we  hiked  again  to  gay  Paree,  and  kissed  the  made- 
moiselles, 

We  laughed  with  all  the  little  kids,  and  heard  the  ring- 
ing bells. 

Then  we  filed  again  on  to  our  ship,  we'd  done  our  usual 
job, 

''We're  FIRST  TO  FIGHT  AND  LAST  TO  QUIT," 
the  unknown,  unthanked  gob. 


" PAPA " JOFFRE 

HERO  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  MARNE 


FAMOUS  GENERALS 
OF   THE   GREAT  WAR 


''  PAPA  "  JOFFRE 
HEEO  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  MAENE 

THE  French  army  had  been  retreating  for  weeks  be- 
fore the  onrushing  Prussian  hordes.     The  Poilus 
had,  therefore,  begun  to  wonder  how  much  longer 
they  would  have  to  make   this  retrograde  movement, 
when  the  following  order  was  read  to  them : 

"Soldiers: 

"  At  a  moment  when  a  battle,  on  which  the  salvation 
of  your  country  may  depend,  is  about  to  begin,  you  must 
remember  that  this  is  not  the  time  for  retrospective 
glances,  for  all  our  efforts  must  be  employed  to  at- 
tack. An  army  that  cannot  advance,  must,  no  matter 
what  the  cost,  maintain  the  territory  won,  and  die  rather 
than  retreat. 

(Signed)  "  Joffre." 

Fired  by  these  stirring  words,  and  by  the  still  more 
portentous  fact,  that,  should  they  not  beat  back  the 
Hunnish  avalanche,  the  city  of  Paris  would  soon  be  in 
the  hands  of  the  invader,  the  French  soldiers  turned  to 
fight  the  grimmest  battle  which  their  countr>Tnen  had 
engaged  in  since  the  fierce  conflict  of  Sedan,  in  1870. 


4  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

In  command  of  their  entire  force  was  a  man  who  had 
been  born  at  Kivesaltes,  in  the  southern  part  of  France, 
and  near  the  Pyrenees  mountains,  January  12th,  1852. 
The  son  of  a  cooper,  Joseph-Jacques-Cesaire  JofFre,  the 
future  Generalissimo  of  the  French  army  was  one  of 
eleven  children,  of  whom  but  three — two  brothers  and 
a  sister,  Madame  Artus,  the  widow  of  a  Captain  of 
artillery — remain  alive  to-day.  The  Joffre  home  was 
humble,  plain,  and  inartistic ;  such  a  home  as  a  man  of 
very  moderate  means  would  occupy. 

The  childhood  of  General  Joffre  differed  little  from 
that  of  thousands  of  other  boys  and  girls  who  went 
to  school  and  played  with  him  in  the  streets  of  Eive- 
saltes.  Young  Joffre  was  a  silent  boy;  a  fair  scholar, 
but  neither  brilliant  nor  over-industrious.  It  seems  that 
he  lacked  the  ability  to  make  himself  popular  with 
other  boys.  He  was  an  obstinate  child  and  preferred 
lonely  rambles  to  play  with  his  schoolmates. 

"  My  mother  used  to  say  that  she  remembered  the 
general's  mother  saying  that,  when  a  baby  in  the  cradle, 
the  general  never  cried,"  declared  several  old  residents 
of  Kivesaltes.  At  any  rate,  all  of  the  great  soldier's 
schoolmates  remember  better  than  anything  else  his 
unwillingness  to  talk,  his  peculiar  gift  of  silence,  which, 
in  later  years  has  come  to  be  known  as  "  Joffre's  taci- 
turnity." 

France  now  needed  men  for  its  army,  for,  during 
the  revolutionary  period,  the  nobility  had  been  deci- 
mated and  exiled.  The  army  now  became  a  great 
democratic  institution,  and  the  French  middle  class 
filled  the  different  training  schools  with  their  young 


"PAPA" JOFFEE  5 

men.  The  future  career  of  little  Joffre  was  decided 
at  a  family  council,  and  it  was  there  determined  to  send 
the  boy  to  Paris  where  he  was  to  prepare  for  the  Poly- 
technic. So,  at  the  age  of  fifteen  and  a  half  years, 
Joseph  Joffre  left  his  paternal  home.  This  was  in 
1869.  A  year  later  he  entered  the  army  that  defended 
Paris  against  the  besieging  Prussians. 

Beaten  and  humiliated  at  Sedan,  Napoleon  III  ca- 
pitulated to  the  Prussian  King,  and,  when  the  exultant 
Germans  advanced  upon  Paris,  young  Joffre  was  given 
an  emergency  commission  as  a  lieutenant  of  artillery. 
He  took  his  post  with  one  of  the  siege  batteries  hastily 
formed  for  the  defense  of  the  capital  against  the  dreaded 
foe.  As  you  all  know  —  Paris  fell  —  the  Prussians 
exacted  an  indemnity  of  $15,000,000  from  the  bleed- 
ing city,  and  marched  back  to  Germany  richer  and  more 
overbearing  than  when  they  came. 

After  the  war  young  Joffre  gave  up  his  commission 
as  a  gunner,  returned  to  the  Ecole  Poli/teclinique  to 
complete  his  course  of  study,  and  left  during  the  follow- 
ing year,  1872,  having  the  rank  of  lieutenant,  attached 
to  the  2nd  Eegiment  of  Engineers.  He  was  now 
twenty,  and  his  marvelous  ability  to  manipulate 
figures  rapidly  and  accurately,  his  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  higher  mathematics,  his  logical  mind,  and  his 
great  common  sense,  soon  secured  him  a  foremost  place 
among  his  fellow  officers. 

The  Paris  defenses  were  much  in  need  of  improve- 
ment at  this  time,  and  Lieutenant  Joffre  was  now  em- 
ployed in  the  occupation  of  rendering  them  more  se- 
cure.    In  1876  Marechal  de  ^lac^Iahon,  who  was  the 


6  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

President  of  the  Eepiiblic,  made  a  personal  and  thor- 
ough inspection  of  the  work  already  accomplished  by 
his  officers,  and,  being  pleased  with  what  had  been 
done,  took  occasion  to  congratulate  those  who  had  made 
such  excellent  progress.  Turning  to  a  squarely  built, 
unassuming  sapper,  who  was  standing  near  one  of  the 
fortifications,  he  said,  in  an  abrupt  manner:  "I  con- 
gratulate you.  Captain  Joffre,"  that  was  all. 

Lieutenant  Joffre  was  astonished,  for  he  little  ex- 
pected the  unsought-for  promotion.  Yet  this  was  a 
splendid  acknowledgment  of  his  worth  and  energy,  and 
never  was  honor  more  justly  deserved  or  more  mod- 
estly borne.  Without  more  ado  he  turned  back  to  his 
work  of  perfecting  the  defenses  of  Paris,  and  labored 
so  persistently  that  in  five  years  the  city  had  been  made 
practically  impregnable;  or  as  impregnable  as  it  was 
humanly  possible  to  make  it. 

Joffre,  in  fact,  became  a  master  in  the  art  of  build- 
ing fortifications.  His  work  was  noticed,  and,  when 
Admiral  Courbet  telegraphed  from  Kelong — a  port  in 
the  Island  of  Formosa — for  a  French  officer  who  under- 
stood thoroughly  the  way  to  dig  trenches  and  to  erect 
forts,  Joffre  was  very  naturally  chosen  for  the  task. 
Kelong  had  been  occupied  by  the  French  for  but  one 
year,  yet  it  was  essential  that  an  army  of  occupation 
should  be  placed  there  to  establish  French  rights  and  to 
exclude  the  growing  German  influence  in  the  Far  East. 
To  Joffre  was  to  be  given  the  task  of  making  Kelong 
into  a  formidable  fortress,  and  so  well  did  he  accomplish 
this  duty  that  he  was  decorated  with  the  Legion  of 
Honor. 


<<  r>A  r>A    >' 


PAPA  "  JOFFRE 


"PAPA" JOFFRE  7 

For  three  years  the  robust  young  Frenchman  re- 
mained in  Formosa,  occupying  himself — for  the  most 
part — in  effecting  a  system  of  housing  which  was  prac- 
tically perfect.  Under  his  direction  barracks  were  put 
up,  and  they  afforded  the  men  such  excellent  protec- 
tion against  both  heat  and  damp,  that  many  valuable 
lives  were  saved  which  otherwise  would  have  been 
claimed  by  malaria  or  enteric  fever.  In  1888,  Captain 
Joffre  returned  to  France,  and  on  ^lay  6th,  1889,  was 
made  Major  and  Commandant  at  the  War  Office  in 
Paris.  Soon  after  this  he  left  Paris  for  Versailles, 
where  he  was  appointed  Major  to  the  5th  Regiment  of 
Railway  Corps.  In  this  position  he  acquired  a  great 
practical  knowledge  of  the  French  railways,  which  was 
to  be  of  such  advantage  to  him  when  troops  were  to  be 
mobilized  against  the  Prussian  invasion  of  191-lr. 

Promotion  now  came  rapidly  for  the  young  officer. 
On  April  7,  1891,  he  was  appointed  Professeur  de  Fort- 
ification, or  lecturer  on  the  art  of  science  and  fortifica- 
tion, at  the  famous  artillery  school  for  officers,  the 
Ecole  d'Application  at  Fontainebleau.  He  proved  to 
be  an  excellent  teacher  and  was  so  greatly  appreciated 
that  many  were  anxious  to  have  him  remain  in  France 
in  order  to  give  the  younger  generation  of  officers  the 
benefit  of  his  extensive  knowledge  of  military  science. 
But  Major  Joffre  had  adventure  in  his  soul ;  he  longed 
to  go  to  French  Africa  and  to  know  something  of  the 
great  and  mysterious  Black  Continent. 

France  has  an  immense  African  domain.  Upon  the 
western  coast  of  Africa  she  possesses  valuable  colonies, 
which  are  from  north  to  south:  Sen^al  or  Senegambia, 


8  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

French  Guinea,  the  Ivory  coast,  Dahomey,  and  French 
Congo.  Upon  the  northern  coast  she  has  highly  pros- 
perous territories,  stretching  from  Tunis  to  Morocco, 
Forced  to  retire  inland  to  inaccessible  regions,  the  un- 
ruly native  tribes  are  a  perpetual  menace  and  a  source 
of  grave  danger  to  the  peaceful  native  population  in  the 
interior.  It  has  been  one  of  the  duties  of  the  French 
army  to  accomplish  the  task  of  civilizing  the  country  and 
of  chastising  the  natives.  Also  of  building  railroads 
from  the  coast  to  the  interior. 

In  December,  1892,  Major  Joffre  landed  upon  Da- 
kar's busy  quay,  and,  in  1893,  he  was  surveying  the 
lines  for  a  railroad  to  run  from  Kita  to  Bammako.  His 
stay  upon  the  scene  was  short,  but  it  is  largely  due  to 
his  influence  that  the  Senegal-lSTiger  Eailway  is  a  suc- 
cess to-day.  At  this  time  the  natives  in  the  interior 
were  getting  unruly,  so  in  the  following  year  Major 
Joffre  was  asked  to  take  command  of  a  column  which 
was  to  march  from  Segu  to  Timbuktu. 

This  expedition  consisted  of  fourteen  French  and 
two  native  ofiicers,  twenty-eight  French  and  three 
hundred  and  fifty-two  native  non-commissioned  officers 
and  men,  about  two  hundred  pack  horses  and  mules  and 
some  seven  hundred  native  carriers.  The  Frenchmen 
and  native  assistants  were  to  follow  the  left  bank  of 
the  river  from  Segu  to  Timbuktu,  where  a  Colonel  Bon- 
nier was  to  receive  them.  They  were  expected  to  invite 
the  native  chiefs,  who  had  not  already  made  submis- 
sion to  the  French  flag,  to  join  the  column  and  come  to 
Timbuktu.  If  they  showed  themselves  to  be  unruly, 
there  was  to  be  a  fight. 


"PAPA" JOFFRE  9 

Leaving  Segii  on  December  2Yth,  1893,  Major  Joffre 
and  his  party  reached  Timbuktu  on  Februarv  12th, 
1804.  Their  march  had  not  been  an  easy  one,  for  the 
population  of  some  of  the  villages  upon  the  way  had 
been  distinctly  hostile  and  the  necessary  supplies  had 
to  be  taken  by  force  or  cunning.  On  several  occasions, 
a  number  of  natives,  called  Tonaregs,  had  attacked  the 
expedition  with  great  daring,  and,  although  they  had  at- 
tempted to  kill  many  of  the  French  troops,  they  had 
not  succeeded  in  their  attempt.  Only  one  French 
sergeant  had  been  wounded. 

When  nearing  Timbuktu  Major  Joffre  learned  that 
Colonel  Bonnier  and  most  of  his  men  had  been  sur- 
prised and  murdered  by  the  Tonaregs  at  Taconbao,  early 
in  January;  a  feat  which  had  emboldened  all  of  the 
other  native  tribes,  and  had  made  them  eager  to  take 
up  arms  against  the  French.  So,  without  waiting  for 
orders  or  instructions  from  the  authorities  at  home, 
Joffre  at  once  abandoned  all  idea  of  returning  to  Kayes. 
Instead,  he  lost  no  precious  moments  in  taking  such 
measures  as  would  enable  him  to  deal  a  crushing  blow 
to  the  natives,  and  thus  to  restore  confidence  to  the 
peaceful  population,  which  had  begim  to  doubt  the 
ability  of  the  French  to  cope  with  the  hostile  invaders. 

For  six  months  he  and  his  soldiers  now  fought  and 
chased  the  hostile  Tonaregs,  and,  so  successfully  was 
this  done,  that,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  the  fighting  tribes 
had  been  practically  annihilated  and  the  inhabitants  of 
Timbuktu  and  of  the  river  districts  were  at  last  free 
from  all  danger  of  pillage  and  rapine.  Communica- 
tions with  the  exterior  were  re-established   and  pros- 


10  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

perity  soon  returned  to  the  desolate  regions.  So  well 
was  he  thought  of  at  home  that  the  appreciation  of  his 
conduct  was  publicly  acknowledged  by  the  gazetting  of 
his  name  as  Lieutenant  Colonel.  This  was  on  March 
6th,  1894. 

The  work  in  Sudan  was  diiEcult,  but  Joffre  seemed 
to  enjoy  it,  and,  when  told  to  report  again  in  France,  he 
was  right  loath  to  give  up  his  labors.  Still,  a  soldier 
has  to  do  what  he  is  told  to  do,  so,  returning  to  his 
native  land,  he  was  appointed  Secretary  to  a  learned 
body  known  as  the  Commission  d'Examen  des  Inventions 
Interessant  les  Armees  de  Terre  et  de  Mer, —  a  commit- 
tee of  experts  and  scientists  whose  mission  consists  in  the 
examination  of  the  claims  of  inventors  and  of  the  merits 
of  all  inventions  and  discoveries  likely  to  be  of  use  to, 
and  add  to  the  efficiency  of  France's  land  and  sea 
forces. 

Joffre  retained  this  post  for  four  and  a  half  years, 
and,  of  course,  gained  a  vast  store  of  technical  knowl- 
edge which  was  of  much  assistance  to  him  when,  later 
on,  he  was  called  to  the  stupendous  task  of  whipping 
France  into  shape  for  the  terrible  battles  with  Prussia, 
for  the  liberty  of  her  people. 

On  November  10th,  1899,  the  studious  and  taciturn 
soldier  was  appointed  to  the  position  of  officer  com- 
manding the  5th,  or  Railway  Regiment,  at  Versailles, 
and  on  December  23rd,  1899,  was  sent  to  Madagascar, 
that  fertile  spot  off  the  coast  of  Africa  which  has  been 
the  property  of  France  for  so  many  years.  Here  he 
again  used  his  engineering  skill  in  making  a  system 
of  defenses,  and  was  as  successful  as  at  the  chain  of 


"PAPA"  JOFFRE  11 

fortifications  around  Paris.  Less  than  two  years  after 
his  arrival  at  this  distant  post,  Joffre  had,  bv  hard 
work,  ability,  and  an  indomitable  tenacity,  perfected 
a  splendid  system  of  fortifications  abont  Diego  Suarez. 
His  valuable  services  to  the  mother  country  were  of- 
ficially recognized  by  his  promotion  to  the  rank  of 
Brigadier  General,  on  October  12th,  1901. 

Returning  to  France  from  this  African  possession,  the 
newly  appointed  general  was  given  command  of  the  19th 
artillery  brigade.  In  July,  1903,  he  was  raised  to  the 
dignified  position  of  Commandant  de  la  Legion  d'Hon- 
neur,  and,  shortly  after  this,  was  told  to  take  supreme 
control  of  the  whole  corps  of  engineers.  In  March, 
1905,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  General  of  Divis- 
ion, but  remained  at  the  War  Office  until  January, 
1900,  when  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  Gth  In- 
fantry Division.  In  May,  1908,  he  was  put  at  the 
head  of  the  2nd  army  corps. 

Realizing,  at  this  time,  that  war  with  Prussia  was 
imminent,  the  general  set  about  to  drill  the  army  in 
preparation  for  the  mighty  conflict  which  he  knew  would 
be  soon  upon  the  people.  By  word  and  writing  he  en- 
deavored to  prepare  the  mind  of  the  French  for  the  war 
which  all  knew  to  be  inevitable.  "  The  French,"  he 
said,  "  should  have  a  tenacious  purpose  to  win.  They 
must  have  victory  written  in  their  very  soul." 

"  The  material  organization  of  an  army,"  he  added, 
"  perfect  though  it  may  be ;  its  understanding  no  mat- 
ter how  highly  developed,  will  be  insufficient  to  insure 
us  a  victory,  if  this  army,  strong  and  intelligent  as  it 
may  have  become,  will  lack  a  soul." 


12  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

]^apoleon  the  Great  said  many  a  good  thing,  and 
one  of  the  best  remarks  which  he  ever  made,  was: 
"  The  primordeal  virtue  of  a  general  commanding  an 
army  is  his  character." 

General  Joffre  is  a  man  of  character,  and  this  force 
has  been  felt  throughout  the  ranks  of  the  entire  French 
army,  until  every  soldier  in  the  trenches,  every  trooper 
in  the  field,  owns,  as  a  part  of  himself,  this  precious 
gift.  A  strict  disciplinarian,  he  became  the  idol  of  the 
army.  "  A  well  balanced  mind, —  a  well  balanced 
soul,"  is  the  verdict  pronounced  upon  him  by  one  of 
France's  most  eminent  thinkers. 

Fairly  tall  and  quite  broad,  the  figure  of  General 
Joffre  is  massive  and  strong-looking.  His  head  is  large, 
his  hair  is  thick  and  wavy,  his  eyes  are  deep-set  and 
grayish  blue.  His  neck  is  short,  and  his  broad  shoul- 
ders give  him  the  appearance  of  great  strength.  His 
gray  eye-brows  are  very  long  and  bristly;  his  forehead 
is  wide;  his  nose  straight  and  fully  developed.  His 
lower  jaw  is  powerful,  but  not  brutal ;  his  chin  round  and 
clean  shaven. 

Free  from  all  vanity,  simple  of  dress  and  habit,  scru- 
pulously fair  and  strictly  just,  eminently  sincere  and 
loyal  to  his  friends,  his  soldiers,  and  his  country,  Joffre 
is  loved  and  trusted  by  all  who  know  him.  His  sol- 
diers have  a  blind  confidence  in  his  ability,  and  thus 
—  when  after  weeks  of  retreat,  although  exhausted  and 
fatigued  —  they  heard  the  voice  of  Joffre  cry  out: 
"  Halt !  and  Fight !  "  all  turned  heroically  and  will- 
ingly to  drive  the  Prussian  invader  from  the  soil  of  the 
beloved  country. 


"PAPA"  JOFFRE  13 

When  Prussia  declared  war  on  France  and  her  sol- 
diers crossed  into  Belgium,  Joffre  was  ready.  Years 
before  the  advance  upon  Paris  he  had  selected  the  line 
of  the  river  Marne  as  the  place  at  which  in  the  event  of 
a  German  invasion  a  great  battle  should  be  fought. 
Here  he  halted  the  French  army  and  here  is  where  he 
said  to  his  men,  "Now  is  the  time  and  the  opportunity 
to  save  France ;  let  all  advance  who  can,  let  all  die  where 
they  stand  who  cannot  advance !  " 

His  words  raised  the  spirits  of  the  weary,  march- 
worn  soldiers,  and  his  message  sank  deep  into  their 
hearts. 

It  was  the  morning  of  September  1st,  1914,  and  the 
sun  shone  hazily  down  upon  the  great  surging  masses 
of  men  who  faced  each  other  along  the  slow-winding 
Marne,  soon  to  meet  in  a  death  struggle  for  the  mastery 
of  the  soil  of  France,  and  to  fight  the  greatest  battle 
of  all  history.  Years  before,  Attila  —  King  of  the 
Huns  —  had  come  down  victoriously  from  the  north, 
sweeping  all  before  him,  and  killing  and  massacring  as 
he  came  on.  He  had  been  met  by  Aetius  and  Theodo- 
sius,  who  had  signally  defeated  him,  and  had  sent  his 
greedy,  ferocious  host  of  vandals  and  free-booters  reel- 
ing back  across  the  Ehine.  Now  history  was  to  repeat 
itself. 

Then  the  wild  cries  of  barbarians  echoed  over  the 
fair  fields  of  France.  Now  the  growl  of  great,  massive 
guns;  the  sudden,  short  orders  of  officers,  the  grumble 
of  artillery  wagons,  and  the  tramp,  tramp,  tramp  of 
thousands  of  hob-nailed  shoes  sounded  above  the  swish- 
ing of  the  river.     Bugles  blared,  horses  neighed,  drums 


14  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

riimbk^d,  flags  went  fluttering-  up  the  roads,  lancers,  with 
pennons  streaming,  galloped  past, —  all  was  bustle,  hus- 
tle, excitement  —  for  France  and  Germany  were  to 
meet  in  the  most  awesome  struggle  that  ever  mortal 
man  witnessed.  The  most  portentous  battle  of  all  His- 
tory was  to  be  fought  out.  No  wonder  that  the  brow 
of  General  Joffre  was  furrowed  with  wrinkles. 

Turning  to  a  Lieutenant  on  his  staff  he  had  said: 
"  The  army  has  retreated  far  enough.  On  no  consid- 
erations will  it  fall  back  of  the  Seine  and  the  region 
north  of  Bar-le-Duc.  We  will  fight  here  —  to  the 
Death." 

The  French  armies  were  placed  in  the  field  in  the 
relation  in  which  he  deemed  they  would  be  most  ef- 
fective : 

The  First  Army,  under  General  Dubail,  was  in  the 
Vosges,  and  the  second  army,  under  General  Castleneau, 
was  near  Nancy;  the  Third  army,  under  General  Ser- 
rail,  was  east  and  south  of  the  Argonne  in  a  kind 
of  "  elbow,"  joining  with  the  Fourth  army  under  Gen- 
eral de  Langle  de  Cary.  The  Ninth  army,  under  gal- 
lant General  Foch,  was  next  in  line,  towards  the  north- 
east ;  then  the  Fifth  army,  under  Franchet  D'Esperey, 
joining  with  the  little  British  army  of  three  corps,  un- 
der General  Sir  John  French ;  and  then  the  new  Sixth 
army,  under  the  brave  General  Manoury. 

General  Jofi"re  was  at  the  little  town  of  Bar-sur-Aube, 
fifty  miles  south  of  Chaloss,  and  he  there  watched  — 
with  some  concern  —  the  outcome  of  the  clash  at  arms. 
On  the  morning  of  September  the  fifth  all  of  the  com- 
manders received  from  him  the  now  historic  message: 


"PAPA"  JOFFRE  15 

"  The  moment  has  come  for  the  army  to  advance  at 
all  costs  and  allow  itself  to  be  slain  where  it  stands 
rather  than  to  give  way." 

For  fourteen  days  the  French  soldiers  had  been  fall- 
ing back  before  the  exultant  Germans;  the  skin  was 
worn  off  from  the  bottom  of  their  feet;  their  shoes  were 
stuck  to  their  toes  with  blood.  Without  rest,  or  much 
food,  for  fourteen  davs  the  French  soldiers  had  been 
ceaselessly  engaged.  Now  was  the  turn  to  attack.  It 
MUST  be  settled  here  who  was  to  rule  France  — 
French  or  Germans. 

Attila  had  found  that  the  French  were  no  easy  men 
to  vanquish.  How  was  Von  Hindenberg  to  find  the 
descendants  of  those  who  had  driven  back  the  boastful 
and  blood-thirsty  Huns  in  olden  days? 

The  patriotic  defenders  of  La  Belle  France  had 
marched  on  scorching  roads,  with  their  throats  parched, 
and  suffocated  by  dust.  "  Our  bodies  had  beaten  a 
retreat,  but  not  our  heads,"  says  one  Pierre  Lassere, 
and  so  —  when  the  clarion  notes  of  the  bugle  called  out 
"En  Avant,"  and  when  the  stirring  words  of  Gen- 
eral Joffre  were  read  to  them,  the  faces  of  all  the  Poilus 
from  Paris  to  Verdun  beamed  with  joy.  The  men  were 
worn  out  with  fatigue  and  with  constant  fighting,  their 
faces  were  black  with  powder-smoke  and  their  eves 
blinded  with  the  chalk-dust  of  Champagne, —  yet  they 
roused  themselves  for  a  mighty  stand  and  their  hearts 
were  filled  with  faith  and  hope.  La  Belle  France 
should  Siudi  must  irmm^h..     Enavant!     Enavant! 

It  was  daybreak  of  Sunday,  September  6th,  and,  with- 
out any  disturbance,  or  bravado,  a  little,  quiet,  studious- 


16  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

lookins:  man  pitched  his  tent  near  a  modern  chateau  near 
the  village  of  Pleurs, —  some  six  miles  southeast  of 
Sezanne.  He  took  out  his  glasses  and  raked  the 
sky-line, —  then,  turning  to  his  Aides,  he  said  : 
"  Ha,  boys !  This  is  fine.  The  Boche  will  now  turn 
tail." 

This  jolly,  little  man  —  studious-looking,  though  ami- 
able and  laughing,  was  General  Ferdinand  Foch. 

He  had  been  assigned  to  the  line  from  Sezanne  to 
Camp  de  Mailly,  twenty-five  miles  east,  by  a  little 
south.  The  slow-moving  Marne  ran  twenty-five  miles 
north  of  his  position.  His  men  were  in  many  a  town 
and  village  in  front  of  him,  some  of  them  in  a  clay 
pocket  near  the  Marshes  of  St.  Gond.  His  van  was 
north  of  this  marsh.  As  the  little  General  scanned  the 
horizon  he  could  hear  the  gims  begin  to  growl. 

"  The  T5's  are  barking,"  said  he.  "  It  soon  will  be 
quite  interesting." 

Meanwhile  General  Joffre  —  far  to  the  south  and 
rear,  had  been  pacing  up  and  dowTi  behind  his  auto- 
mobile. He  had  placed  Foch  in  the  most  important 
position  where  the  Prussian  Guard  was  to  attack.  He 
knew  whom  to  trust  in  his  vast  army,  and  he  wanted 
to  have  Foch  in  the  MOST  crucial  point;  so  he,  too, 
scanned  the  horizon  with  his  glass  and  whistled  a  tune. 
It  was  THE  MARSEILLAISE. 

All  the  Generals  paced  up  and  down  and  whistled, 
—  then  Bedlam  broke  loose. 

BOOM!  BOOM!  BOAR!  ROAR!  The  Prussian 
artillery  threw  a  perfect  avalanche  of  lead  into  the 
French  lines,  and  laid  down  a  barrage.     Then  —  with 


''PAPA"  JOFFRE  17 

wild  cheers  of  victory,  the  steel-helmeted  Germans 
charged.  As  the  day  wore  on  the  Prussian  Guard 
drove  Foch's  Angevins  and  Vendeans  of  the  Ninth 
Corps  back  beyond  the  marshes,  and  occupied  their  po- 
sitions of  the  early  morning.  So  too  —  on  the  east 
of  the  line,  the  Bretons  were  hurled  backward  by  the 
fearful  rush  of  the  invaders,  and  the  Moroccans  of  the 
Forty-Second  Division  had  to  yield  to  the  bayonets  of 
the  yelping  German  Divisions. 

ISTight  was  coming  on  —  all  along  the  vast  line  the 
French,  English,  and  Moroccans  were  engaged,  and 
the  carnage  was  fearful.  Joffre  paced  before  his  head- 
quarters uneasily,  for  it  was  bad  news  that  his  couriers 
were  bringing  him.  It  was  this :  "  Our  lines  have 
given  way  everywhere.     Foch  is  in  retreat." 

True  —  Foch's  new  army  had  given  ground  almost 
everywhere. 

It  was  sad  news,  dispiriting  news  to  General  Joffre. 
Here  and  there  an  aide  drew  up  in  a  panting,  puffing 
automobile.  Their  news  was  not  all  the  same  —  near 
Verdun  the  Crown  Prince  was  being  driven  off,  at 
Nancy  the  valiant  D'Esperey  was  fighting  a  fierce  bat- 
tle and  was  moving  the  Germans  backward,  on  the 
north.  General  French  with  his  Englishmen  was  hold- 
ing his  own  stubbornly  and  fiercely,  but  alack  and 
aday  —  General  Foch's  men  —  those  who  held  the  piv- 
otal point  were  giving  way.  Joffre  again  whistled 
THE  MARSEILLAISE  —  he  would  see  what  the  mor- 
row had  to  bring. 

The  morning  of  the  next  day  broke  clear,  the  sun 
slirouded  by  the  banks  of  sulphurous  vapor  which  came 


18  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

from  the  roaring,  rumbling  guns,  belching  ever  a  hail 
of  smoke  and  shell.  Again  the  Prussian  Guard  came 
on  after  the  men  under  Foch,  again  they  attacked 
fiercely  and  the  battle  was  hand-to-hand. 

A  little  man  —  a  bandy-legged  man  —  walked  out  in 
front  of  his  Headquarters  in  the  Chateau  at  Pleurs,  and 
made  a  cautious  remark  to  his  aide,  who  was  smoking 
a  cigarette.     It  was: 

"  They  are  trying  to  throw  us  back  with  such  fury 
that  I  am  sure  that  means  things  are  going  badly  for 
them  elsewhere  and  they  are  seeking  compensation." 

Could  he  have  mounted  in  an  aeroplane,  he  would 
have  seen  that  he  was  <|uite  right.  Von  Kluck  was  re- 
tiring in  a  northeasterly  direction  under  the  fierce  at- 
tacks of  General  Manoury's  men ;  while  Von  Buelow  — 
who  was  in  front  of  General  Foch  —  was  moving  vast 
bodies  of  troops  from  the  left  of  the  line.  In  the  center 
the  Prussians  attacked  with  renewed  energy.  Such 
vast  numbers  of  troops  were  hurled  against  the  French 
that  they  had  to  retire.  On  Tuesday,  the  8th  day  of 
September,  Foch  had  to  move  his  headquarters  to 
Plancy,  eleven  miles  south.  ITe  had  reached  the  river 
Aube,  behind  which  Joffre  had  said,  "  We  cannot  go." 

The  right  wing  of  Foch's  army  was  weak  —  woefully 
weak  —  it  was  giving  way.  The  wing  must  be 
strengthened  —  but  all  the  reserves  were  used  up  —  how 
was  this  to  be  done?  On  the  left  of  the  line  was  the 
Forty-second  division  and  Foch  appealed  to  it  to  save 
the  day.  This  would  leave  a  gap  in  the  line,  but  Gen- 
eral D'Esperey  was  begged  to  lengthen  out  his  own  line 
in  order  to  fill  this  hole,  so  that  the  Forty-second  could 


"PAPA" JOFFRE  19 

march  to  the  weakened  right  and  repel  the  exultant 
Prussian  Guard. 

It  was  10  o'clock  in  the  evening  when  General  Gros- 
setti  —  who  commanded  the  Forty-Second  —  was 
roused  from  his  bed  in  the  straw  in  the  shell-riddled 
farm  of  Chapton.  He  was  handed  an  order  from 
General  Foch,  which  was :  "  Give  us  aid  on  the  right, 
or  the  Prussians  will  get  through." 

The  Officer  sat  up,  rubbed  his  eyes,  and  said :  "  Mon 
Dieu,  I  can  do  it.      It  is  all  for  France." 

Immediately  he  bestirred  himself.  The  Colonels  of 
the  different  Kegiments  were  told  what  must  be  done; 
they  gave  the  necessary  orders  to  their  subordinates,  and 
—  by  morning  the  Forty-Second  was  marching  along 
so  as  to  be  in  the  line  of  defense,  but  they  marched  none 
too  soon,  for  the  Prussian  Guards  —  with  a  colossal 
effort  —  had  smashed  through  the  right  of  Foch's  line, 
and,  wild  with  joy,  were  driving  the  Poilus  before 
them. 

General  Foch  was  smiling,  but,  beneath  that  smile 
was  a  heart  beating  with  anguish.  To  Joffre  he  tele- 
graphed : 

"  My  center  gives  way,  my  right  recedes ;  the  situa- 
tion is  excellent.     I  shall  attack." 

Calling  his  aides  to  him.  General  Foch  gave  the  nec- 
essary orders  to  them  —  they  must  bear  them  to  the 
different  parts  of  the  wavering  line,  and  all  MUST  at- 
tack. By  ten  o'clock,  upon  that  September  day,  must 
be  decided  who  would  win  the  Battle  of  the  ]\[arne  — 
by  ten  o'clock  it  would  be  said,  France  rises  triumphant 
from  the  bitter  defeat  of  1870  —  by  ten  o'clock  it  would 


20  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

be  heralded  far  and  wide  —  the  Germans  have  been 
hurled  back,  the  descendants  of  Attila  the  Hun  have 
fared  even  as  he  did  at  Chalons.  Giving  his  orders  in 
smooth,  low  tones,  the  General  turned,  lighted  a  cig- 
arette, and  went  out  for  a  walk  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
little  village  of  Plancy.  His  companion  —  Lieutenant 
Ferasson  of  the  artillery  —  was  one  of  his  Staff,  and,  as 
they  walked  slowly  along  they  discussed  Economics  and 
Metallurgy. 

The  day  was  a  clear  one  and  the  grumbling  roar  of 
the  guns  was  interspersed  with  the  rattle  of  the  ma- 
chine guns,  the  spit,  spit  of  the  rifles,  and  the  fierce 
cries  of  the  fighting  men.  Dead  and  dying  lay  every- 
where, the  ambulances  were  doing  great  and  valiant 
service,  but  still  the  Prussians  came  on.  They  were 
breaking  through  and  thought  themselves  victorious, 
when  up  marched  the  Forty-Second  Division,  right  into 
the  gap  which  the  Germans  believed  would  let  them 
through  to  Paris.  The  men  of  this  chosen  Corps  were 
half  dead  with  fatigue,  and  their  eyes  —  it  is  said  — 
were  blazing  with  such  intensity  of  purpose,  that  the 
Germans  were  terrified  when  they  saw  these  fanatics, 
thinking  them  spirits.  At  any  rate  they  defiled  into 
line,  just  when  most  needed,  and  blocked  Von  Buelow's 
way  to  Paris.  The  Prussians  wavered.  Then  —  at 
about  six  o'clock  —  they  were  seen  to  go  backward. 
Hurrah !  Foch's  maneuver  had  won  the  day  for 
France. 

The  setting  sun  cast  shadows  across  the  fields  of  the 
Marne  when  the  news  was  brought  to  imperturbable 
Joflfre : 


'^PAPA"  JOFFRE  21 

"  Foch  has  them.     Von  Buelow  is  in  retreat." 

The  General  smiled  —  for  the  first  time  in  two  weeks. 
Again  he  whistled  the  Marseillaise. 

Night  fell  over  the  awful  scene.  Dead  and  dying 
littered  the  roads.  Horses  sprawled  everywhere.  Am- 
bulances dashed  here  and  there  —  the  great  star  shells 
lit  up  the  darkness.  Next  moniing  would  see  who 
would  control  the  Mame,  and  the  men  of  the  Forty- 
Second  rested  easily  —  they  had  been  fired  by  the  spirit 
of  Jeanne  DArc. 

It  was  now  September  10th,  and  as  the  sun  rose  it 
shone  sodden  and  gray  upon  the  ranks  of  the  men  of 
the  Forty-second,  who,  pushing  onward,  fighting  grimly, 
entered  the  village  of  Champenoise,  where  they  captured 
numberless  Prussian  officers,  who,  thinking  that  they 
had  won  the  day,  had  gone  to  sleep  snugly  in  wine- 
cellars.  On,  on  went  the  Forty-second  —  and  —  two 
days  later  were  at  Chalons  —  the  Prussians  in  retreat 
were  fleeing  across  the  Marne.  On,  on  went  the  French, 
and,  as  the  German  host  withdrew,  they  were  shelled  bus- 
ily by  the  75's.  Attila  had  here  crossed  centuries  be- 
fore, his  wild  riders  of  the  plains  dispirited  and  woe- 
begone after  their  defeat  at  Chalons. 

Meanwhile,  far  in  the  rear  stood  General  Joffre, 
stolid,  rotund,  imperturbable:  the  essence  of  what  we 
think  a  Frenchman  is  not,  and  an  Englishman  is. 
Aides  were  bringing  good  news  to  him  and  he  was 
smiling. 

"The  Prussians  are  retreating  all  along  the  line," 
they  said.     "  The  Battle  of  the  Marne  is  ours." 

And  near  Chalons,  a  little  General,  who  had  been  a 


22  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

teacher  in  the  j\Iilitary  School,  was  directing  the  cross- 
ing of  the  river  by  the  French  armies.  He  was  still 
talking  Economics  in  his  spare  moments,  and  was  jest- 
ing with  his  aide,  and  he  sometimes  mentioned  Metal- 
lurgy.    This  was  General  Ferdinand  Foch. 

Many,  many  years  hence,  patriotic  Frenchmen  will 
put  up  a  statue  to  the  imperturbable  soldier  who  stood 
behind  the  vast  lines  of  battle  at  the  River  Marne  and 
watched  the  gallant  Poilus  battle  with  the  Prussians 
to  a  fair-earned  victory.  It  will  bear  the  name  of  one 
who  will  rank  with  the  great  war-time  heroes  of  France : 
Bayard,  DuGuescelin,  Key,  Henry  of  Navarre,  Lafay- 
ette, Jeanne  D'Arc,  and  Rochambeau. 

But  I  wonder  if  they  will  carve  on  it  "  Papa  "  Joffre, 
or  just  plain  General  Joffre  ? 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  MAENE 

"  Gott  mit  Uns !  "  was  the  battle  cry 

Which  came  from  German  throats, 
"  Eur  Macht  und  Recht  und  Vaterland !  " 

Came  forth  from  Slavs  and  Croats, 
As  thousands  upon  thousands, 

Thev  crossed  the  river  Ehine, 
To  take  the  road  to  Paris, 

To  make  the  poilus  whine. 

A  million  gray-clad  warriors, 

A  million  rumbling  guns, 
Passed  by  in  gorgeous  panoply; 

The  war  might  of  the  Huns. 
With  aeroplanes  and  Mausers; 

With  painted  camouflage. 
The  conquering  legions  hastened  on 

To  lay  their  first  barrage. 

They  passed  the  forts  of  Belgium ; 

Rich  Brussels,  too,  was  seized; 
They  swept  on  to  the  sea-coast 

And  did  what  e'er  they  pleased. 
The  gray-clad  legions,  steeped  in  death, 

Pressed  onward  into  France, 
Where  an  old,  stout-hearted  general 

Was  waiting  for  his  chance. 

"  Mon  Dieu  !  "  he  murmured  pleasantly, 
"  Zees  Dutchmen  come  too  fast !  " 
23 


24  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

"  Par  Bleu  !  "  he  chuckled  quietly, 
"  We'll  nail  them  to  the  mast !  " 

And,  not  so  many  miles  away, 
A  pompous-looking  Hun, 

Cried  out :     "  O,  Freiheit,  Kinder ! 
We  have  them  on  the  run !  " 

The  German  guns  were  rumbled  up. 

And  pointed  to  the  south. 
Out  belched  their  furious  shrapnel, 

From  every  cannon's  mouth. 
A  hail  of  death  and  slaughter 

Went  reeling  o'er  the  plain. 
Where  stood  the  very  flower  of  France, 

Beneath  the  good  Petain. 

Behind  them,  too,  was  "  Papa  "  Joffre, 

His  eyes  were  glist'ning  bright. 
As  he  cried  out :  "  My  Frenchmen,  stand ! 

And  prove  that  Right  is  Might ! 
Here  is  the  place  to  hold  them ; 

Here  is  the  spot  to  fight ; 
And  the  Kaiser  here  will  soon  find  out 

If  all  his  Might  is  Right !  " 

It  was  slaughter,  slaughter,  slaughter. 

It  was  tons  of  reeling  lead. 
It  was  piles  of  bleeding  poilus, 

And  it  was  heaps  of  German  dead. 
It  was  yelling,  screaming  demons. 

It  was  fiendish  deviltry ; 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  MARNE      25 

And  'twas  growling-,  howling  cannon, 
And  rumbling  musketry. 

It  was  hours  of  belching  seventy-fives. 

'Twas  miles  of  charging  squads. 
'Twas  groaning,  moaning  wounded, 

And  thunder  from  the  gods. 
'Twas  galloping  and  walloping. 

'Twas  pitch  and  hitch,  and  strike. 
'Twas  hold  your  enemy  by  the  throat, 

And  stick  him  with  your  pike. 

In  Berlin  sat  the  Kaiser, 

And  on  his  face  a  frown, 
Tor  his  vaunted  power  was  tott'ring, 

And  he  felt  a  slipping  crown. 
In  Berlin  walked  the  Kaiser 

And  he  cried  out  ''  Durch  und  schnell !  " 
But  by  the  waters  of  the  Marne 

They  sang  his  swan-song  knell. 

For  the  poilus  cried  out,  "  en  avant  !  " 

As  Papa  Joffre  stood  still. 
He  smiled  and  chuckled  amiably, 

As  he  watched  them  from  a  hill. 
He  kept  on  smiling,  smiling. 

As  he  murmured,  "  Kaiser  Bill, 
You've  swallowed  now,  you  devil, 

A  rather  nauseous  pill !  " 

"  You  can't  get  by,  Old  Might  is  Right ! 
You  cannot  cross  the  Marne ! 


26  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

You  cannot  get  to  Paris 

And  joii  cannot  reach  my  barn ! 

You've  played  your  hand  and  lost  it ; 

You've  failed  with  old  von  Khick, 
So  you'd  better  go  to  Holland, 

Where  perhaps  you'll  have  more  luck." 

'Twas  at  the  battle  of  the  Marne 

That  Joffre  won  the  day; 
'Twas  at  the  battle  of  the  Marne, 

That  Deutschland  lost  her  sway. 
So  give  three  cheers  for  "  Papa  "  Joffre, 

And  give  them  with  a  will, 
For  he's  the  boy  who  led  the  men 

Who've  trounced  old  Kaiser  Bill. 


SIR  JOHN  FREXCH 

THE  MAN  WHO  LED  THE 
FIRST  BRITISH  ARMY 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH 

THE  MAN  WHO  LED  THE 
FIRST  BlllTISll  AKMY 

DURING  the  Boer  War  the  Boers  were  the  first 
to  admit  the  superiority  of  General  French  to 
the  English  officers.  One  of  their  most  cun- 
ning leaders  was  General  DeWet,  who,  was  once  asked 
how  long  he  expected  that  he  would  avoid  being  cap- 
tured. The  Old  Fox  laughed,  as  he  replied :  "  It  all 
depends  upon  whom  you  send  after  me."  "  How  about 
General  Pole-Carew  ?  "  was  asked  him.  "  Oh,  bosh," 
he  ejaculated.  "How  about  General  Buller?" 
"  About  two  years,"  he  answered,  chuckling,  "  And 
General  French  ?  "  "  Two  weeks,"  admitted  the  cau- 
tious DeWet. 

This  reputation  for  getting  what  he  went  after  had 
been  well  won  by  General  French,  who,  although  a  sol- 
dier for  many  years,  had  never  reached  high  distinc- 
tion until  the  fighting  in  South  Africa  brought  him  into 
the  lime-light.  Of  Franco-Irish  extraction,  the  em- 
inent leader  comes  of  a  fighting  stock.  On  his  father's 
side  he  hails  from  a  famous  Galway  family,  which  had 
many  soldiers  and  sailors  among  its  numbers,  including 
John  French,  who  fought  in  the  army  of  King  Wil- 
liam, leading  a  troop  of  Enniskillen  dragoons  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Aughrim,   in   1680.     His  father  was   a  sailor, 

29 


30  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

Commander  J.  T.  W.  French,  who,  returning  from 
his  life  at  sea,  and  retiring  from  the  ^avv,  settled 
ujjon  a  beautiful  estate  at  Ripplevale,  near  Walmer. 
Here  John  Denton  Pinkstone  French  was  bom  on  Sep- 
tember 28th,  1852,  in  the  very  year,  in  fact,  that 
^'  Papa  "  Joffre  first  saw  the  light  of  day. 

Very  little  is  known  of  the  boy's  home  life  at  Rip- 
plevale, and,  as  he  was  the  sixth  child  and  the  only  son 
in  the  family,  you  can  see  that  he  grew  up  normally  and 
not  without  too  good  an  opinion  of  his  own  prowess. 
His  father  and  mother  both  died  while  he  was  still 
young,  so  he  was  educated  under  the  care  of  his  sisters. 
One  of  these  —  now  Mrs.  Despard  —  was  an  extremely 
intelligent  and  gifted  woman,  so  that  our  future  Gen- 
eral had  good  home  training.  Although  high-spirited 
and  full  of  mischief,  he  was  not  a  bad  boy,  and  every- 
thing which  he  did  was  done  with  the  greatest  enthusi- 
asm. 

A  person  who  knew  the  future  Field  Marshal  at  this 
time  says  that  he  was  perpetually  playing  with  sol- 
diers, and,  when  occasion  offered  itself,  would  fight 
over  again  the  campaigns  of  Napoleon  the  First,  whom 
he  admired  as  a  soldier  and  not  as  a  man.  He  was, 
in  fact,  a  normal  healthy  English  boy,  with  just  a 
touch  of  reticence  and  taciturnity  to  mark  him  from 
his  fellows. 

At  an  early  age  this  now  famous  warrior  was  sent 

to  a  preparatory  school  at  Harrow,  which  ho  soon  left 

for  Eastman's  Naval  College  at  Portsmouth.     He  went 

hrough  a  system  of  cramming  here,  and  at  the  age  of 

thirteen  passed  the  entrance  examination  to  the  navy. 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  31 

In  the  year  following  (1866)  lie  joined  the  Britannia  as 
a  cadet,  but,  after  a  cruise,  decided  that  sea  life  did  not 
appeal  to  him  as  much  as  a  life  on  shore.  Consequently, 
at  the  age  of  eighteen,  we  find  him  leaving  the  navy  in 
order  to  enter  the  army.  He  would  now  emulate  the 
career  of  the  great  Napoleon,  if  the  opportunity  should 
present  itself. 

So,  we  next  see  John  French  in  the  militia  with  a 
commission  as  a  Lieutenant.  Later  we  find  him  in  the 
regular  service  as  an  officer  in  the  8th,  and  then  the  19th, 
Hussars,  which  were  called  the  "  Dumpies "  because 
men  were  admitted  to  it  who  were  beneath  the  standard 
height  for  the  British  army.  Here,  at  once,  he  earned 
for  himself  the  name  of  Captain  "  Cross  Trees,"  as 
the  result  of  having  once  been  a  naval  man.  To  this 
day  —  among  the  few  remaining  brother  officers  of  his 
youth  —  he  is  greeted  as  "  Trees."  French  was  a  good 
rider,  in  spite  of  his  squat  and  sturdy  frame;  he  at- 
tended to  his  duties  right  manfully,  and  soon  became 
a  most  accomplished  officer. 

One  of  his  closest  friends  says  of  him  —  at  this  stage 
of  his  career  — "  Although  he  never  attempted  to  go  to 
the  Staff  College  he  was  continually  studying  military 
works,  and  often  when  his  brother  officers  were  at  polo 
or  other  amusements,  he  would  remain  in  his  room,  read- 
ing Von  Schmidt,  Jomini,  or  other  books  on  strategy. 
I  recollect  once  traveling  by  rail  with  him  in  our  sub- 
altern days,  when  after  observing  the  country  for  some 
time,  he  broke  out  with :  ''  There  is  where  I  would 
place  my  artillery.  There  is  where  I  should  put  my 
cavalry,"  and  so  on  —  until  the  end  of  the  journey. 


32  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

He  was  interested  in  hrs  profession,  that  was  evident, 
but  had,  as  yet,  no  opportunity  to  exhibit  his  talents  in 
actual  fighting.     The  chance  was  soon  to  come. 

In  1882  the  regiment  in  which  young  French  was 
serving  was  ordered  to  embark  for  Egypt  in  order  to 
take  part  in  the  Nile  expedition,  which  proved  to  be 
the  turning  point  in  his  career.  French  was  a  man 
who  had  to  wait  for  his  opportunities,  and  thus,  he  was 
thirty-two  years  of  age  before  he  saw  this,  his  first  piece 
of  active  service.  The  Queen's  officer  —  now  a  ]\rajor 
—  was  to  prove  himself  to  be  an  able  executive  and  an 
excellent  master  of  tactics  in  the  expedition  into  the 
silent  land,  which  was  to  end  in  a  complete  failure. 

General  Gordon,  an  intelligent  and  experienced  of- 
ficer, was  at  Khartoum,  which  he  had  reached  on  Feb- 
ruary 18th,  1884.  In  April  he  found  himself  besieged, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  warned  the  home 
authorities  of  his  perilous  position,  nothing  was  done 
to  relieve  his  distress.  Finally,  however,  the  Govern- 
ment realized  that  to  allow  this  General  to  perish  at 
the  hands  of  the  Dervishes  might  lead  to  the  loss  of 
Egypt.  With  this  fact  fully  impressed  upon  them. 
Lord  Wolscley  was  instructed  to  relieve  Khartoum  at 
all  costs.  A  flying  column  was  thus  dispatched  across 
the  desert  from  Korti  to  Matammeh,  and  thence  to  Khar- 
toum. With  it  went  a  part  of  the  lOtli  Hussars,  under 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Barlow,  and  Major  French  as  sec- 
ond in  command. 

The  column  marched  forward  for  about  two  weeks 
and  then  came  in  touch  with  the  retreating  enemy  at 
Abu   Klea.     The  10th  Hussars  were  sent  forward  to 


SIR    JOHN    FRENCH 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  33 

reconnoiter,  and  returning  reported  that  the  Mahdi  — 
a  native  ruler  —  had  drawn  up  a  considerable  force 
not  far  off.  Beyond  the  Dervishes  were  some  wells, 
and  it  was  important  that  the  British  troops  should  get 
to  them  in  order  to  relieve  their  thirst.  After  a  con- 
sultation it  was  decided  to  fight  a  way  through  to  this 
water  at  any  cost. 

Leaving  a  small  force  to  guard  the  camp,  the  main 
body  was  formed  into  a  square  and  advanced  across  the 
desert  in  this  form.  As  the  soldiers  went  forward,  the 
enemy  opened  a  terrific  fire  upon  them,  yet,  in  spite  of 
casualties,  the  men  pressed  towards  the  natives,  haul- 
ing their  guns  in  the  center  of  the  square,  and  over  the 
rutted  and  uneven  surface  of  the  desert. 

The  Dervishes  did  not  wait  for  the  English,  but 
rushed  on  to  the  attack.  An  eye-witness  says  that  the 
wild  shouting  of  the  Arabs  as  they  advanced  sounded  like 
the  thunder  of  the  boiling  surf.  So  fierce  was  the  as- 
sault that  the  British  square  was  broken,  and  the  camel 
corps  of  soldiers,  mounted  upon  the  native  beasts,  suf- 
fered most  severely.  Yet,  unable  to  pierce  the  center 
of  the  English  line,  the  Arabs  finally  withdrew,  and,  as 
they  did  so,  Major  French  cried  out  to  the  19th  Hussars : 

''  Boys  I     Xow  is  our  chance !  " 

With  a  cheer,  the  cavalry  dashed  to  the  charge,  and  as 
numerous  shells  from  the  light  guns  exploded  among  the 
Dervishes,  the  men  rushed  in  among  them  with  sword 
and  pistol.  The  natives  stood  for  a  few  moments  — 
then  broke  and  fled  —  and  that  night  the  British  col- 
umn drank  at  the  wells  of  the  desert. 

The  soldiers  now  rested,  and,  as  many  of  the  men 


34  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

were  very  weary,  they  fell  from  the  backs  of  their 
camels  —  while  asleep  —  their  mounts,  in  Avikl  dis- 
order, wandering  far  from  them.  N^ext  morning,  how- 
ever, they  were  collected  together,  and,  after  a  hasty 
breakfast,  the  march  was  resumed. 

Open  ground  at  length  was  reached,  where  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  Mahdi  were  found  to  be  in  full  strength. 
A  fight  was  inevitable,  so  a  barricade  of  camel  boxes, 
saddles,  and  field  equipment  was  thrown  up  hastily,  in 
order  to  give  protection  from  a  forward  attack.  The 
Hussars  were  placed  within  the  barricade,  while  the  rest 
of  the  regiment  —  drawn  up  in  front  —  was  formed 
into  a  square  in  order  to  meet  the  attack  of  the  enemy. 
With  a  wild  yelling  and  shouting,  the  Dervishes  now 
came  on. 

Led  by  emirs  on  superb  horses,  eight  hundred  spear- 
men hurled  themselves  headlong  upon  the  British  square, 
which  stolidly  awaited  the  attack.  Waiting  until  tlie 
enemy  was  within  three  hundred  yards,  the  approaching 
natives  were  met  with  a  deadly  rifle-fire.  Over  and 
over  each  other  rolled  the  foremost  tribesmen,  while 
those  in  the  rear  —  terrified  by  the  rapidity  and  power 
of  the  British  rifle-fire  —  broke  and  fled.  Within 
twenty  minutes  the  battle  was  over,  and,  to  the  faint 
cheers  of  the  British,  the  spearmen  fled  in  wild  con- 
fusion, leaving  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  their  dead 
upon  the  field. 

Strange  to  relate,  not  a  single  British  soldier  was 
either  killed  or  wounded,  in  repelling  the  charge.  A 
stray  bullet  "  scotched  "  General  Stewart  —  leader  of 
the  expedition  —  later  in  the  day,  who,  as  he  fell,  cried 


81K  JOHN  FEENCH  35 

out  to  Colonel  Barrow:  ''Take  care  of  the  10th 
Hussars.     They  have  doue  well." 

The  column  moved  forward  as  soon  as  it  could  reform, 
but,  as  the  grim  soldiers  plodded  across  the  desert,  news 
came  that  Khartoum  had  fallen,  and  that  brave  Gordon 
had  been  killed  by  the  followers  of  the  Mahdi.  Major 
French  —  it  is  said  —  w^as  deeply  moved  by  this  calam- 
ity, and  shed  tears.  With  Khartoum  in  the  hands  of 
the  followers  of  the  Mahdi,  the  mission  of  the  flying 
column  was  ended,  and  it  must,  of  course,  retreat. 
Surrounded  by  the  natives,  whose  numbers  had  been 
added  to  by  those  who  had  been  beseiging  Khartoum, 
the  column  fell  back,  while  General  Buller  was  sent  up 
to  Gubat  in  order  to  take  command.  With  him  he 
brought  the  Eoyal  Irish  and  West  Kent  regiments  to 
reinforce  the  worn  out  and  somewhat  dispirited  British- 
ers. 

General  Buller  saw  the  bad  predicament  in  which 
the  British  troops  had  fallen  and  so  decided  to  retreat. 
On  February  13th  he  evacuated  Gubat,  and,  falling  back 
steadily,  finally  reached  Korti,  where  he  received  ad- 
ditional reinforcements  under  Sir  Evelyn  Wood,  who 
says :  "  There  I  saw  Major  French  for  the  first  time, 
when  our  people  were  coming  back  across  the  desert 
after  our  failure,  the  entire  force  depressed  because 
of  the  death  of  Gordon.  I  came  upon  him  about  a 
hundred  miles  from  the  river  —  he  was  the  last  man 
of  the  last  section  of  the  rear  guard !  We  were  being 
followed  by  bands  of  Arabs.  They  came  into  our  biv- 
ouac on  the  right  of  which  I  am  speaking,  and  during 
the  following  night  they  carried  ofP  some  of  our  cattle," 


36  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

General  Buller,  himself,  fully  appreciated  the  part 
which  Major  French  played  during  the  retreat,  for  he 
says: 

"  I  wish  expressly  to  remark  on  the  excellent  work 
that  has  been  done  by  a  small  detachment  of  the  19th 
Hussars,  both  during  our  occupation  of  Abu  Klea,  and 
during  our  retreat.  Each  man  has  done  the  work  of 
ten,  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  force  owes 
much  to  Major  French  and  his  thirteen  troopers." 

For  two  months  this  flying  column  had  been  occupied 
in  this  expedition,  and  it  had,  indeed,  accredited  itself 
with  glory.  One  writer  says  of  the  British  soldiers: 
'"  They  were  not  men,  but  heroes,"  while  Colonel  Bid- 
dnlph  has  written :  "  During  the  whole  march  from 
Korti,  the  entire  scouting  duty  had  been  taken  by  the 
19th  Hussars,  so  that  each  day  they  covered  more 
ground  than  the  rest  of  the  force.  Even  the  fierce 
Baggara  horsemen  appeared  unwilling  to  cross  swords 
with  the  cavalry." 

The  part  which  the  gallant  French  had  taken  in  this 
affair  was  fully  appreciated  by  the  Government,  and, 
a  short  time  after  the  return  of  the  regiment,  the  Major 
was  appointed  a  Lieutenant-Colonel,  and  second  in  com- 
mand of  the  19th  Hussars.  From  this  time  on  he  be- 
came so  much  absorbed  in  military  duties,  that,  when 
Sir  Evelyn  Wood  inspected  the  regiment  in  1887,  he 
asked :  "  Of  what  value  is  that  man  ?  "  pointing  to 
Colonel  French,  and,  received  the  reply :  "  He  is  for- 
ever reading  military  books.  He  is  a  hard  student  and 
an  apt  soldier.  We  all  admire  the  Lieutenant-Colonel 
of  the  19th  Hussars." 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  37 

Our  Field  Marshal,  in  fact,  had  finally  begun  to  be- 
come absorbed  in  his  profession,  just  as  a  Physician  be- 
comes absorbed  in  what  he  is  doing,  or  a  Minister  of 
the  Gospel  in  what  he  is  saying  and  preaching,  or  one 
of  you  boys  in  how  you  are  going  to  win  that  one  hun- 
dred yard  dash,  or  that  tennis  cup.  He  became  taciturn, 
or  solemn,  and  began  to  assume  a  rather  serious  mien, 
for  war  is  a  grim  business  and  the  British  soldier  is 
always  fighting  somewhere.  With  an  empire  which 
stretches  around  the  globe,  and  upon  which  the  sun 
never  sets,  you  can  well  see  that  any  man  who  assumes 
a  responsible  position  in  His  Majesty's  army  has  his 
work  cut  out  for  him.  He  always  has  something,  some- 
where, to  worry  him,  for  some  unruly  tribesmen  are  not 
always  satisfied  with  the  stern  and  strong  hand  of  the 
man  in  khaki,  and  will  suddenly  rebel,  cut  up  a  regi- 
ment or  two,  and  begin  to  create  considerable  disturb- 
ance which  is  the  business  of  Generals  to  look  into,  and 
to  settle,  if  possible. 

Soon  after  this  the  zealous  Trench  became  Colonel  of 
several  regiments,  for  he  was  sent  to  India  and  made 
Chief  of  Staff  to  General  Luck,  who  had  maneuvers  of 
troops  dispersed  over  a  wide  area  of  ground.  This  was 
excellent  training,  and  at  it  the  sturdy  Irishman  went 
with  great  enthusiasm,  but,  not  recognizing  his  brilliant 
services,  the  Government  retired  him  on  half  pay.  This 
was  in  1893,  and  he  was  but  forty-one  years  of  age. 
'No  wonder  he  was  depressed,  and  it  has  been  said  that  he 
viewed  his  life  as  a  failure  at  this  time.  "  I  am  just 
in  my  prime,  "  he  is  reported  to  have  remarked,  "  and  I 
want  to  go  on  and  not  sit  still." 


ST^saso 


38  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

His  retirement  was  not  for  long.  Returning  from 
India,  in  1894,  Sir  George  Luck  was  appointed  Inspec- 
tor cf  Cavalrv,  and,  looking  around  for  some  one  to 
write  a  revised  Cavalrv  Drill  Book,  hit  upon  General 
French  —  then  a  retired  Colonel.  So  the  disgruntled 
and  retired  soldier  was  recalled  and  installed  in  the 
Horse  Guards  for  the  purpose  of  producing  such  a  vol- 
ume. The  result  was  a  masterpiece  of  precise,  mili- 
tary information.  In  1895  the  author  was  advanced 
to  the  grade  of  Assistant  Adjutant-General  of  Cavalry 
and  was  ensconced  in  the  War  Office,  a  place  where  he 
was  never  happy,  as  he  wished  to  have  action,  and  this 
was  essentially  a  place  of  inaction.  Yet  he  hung  on 
to  his  duties,  performed  them  to  the  best  of  his  ability, 
and  here  he  was  serving  when  Briton  and  Boer  began  to 
clash  upon  the  wide,  arid  plains  of  South  Africa,  and 
rumors  of  the  Jameson  raid  stirred  up  the  fighting 
blood  of  both  Dutchman  and  Uitlander. 

The  South  African  campaign  now  opened,  the  blood 
call  went  up  to  Englishmen  throughout  the  world,  and 
all  hastened  to  conquer  and  subdue  the  poor,  half-clad, 
illy-armed  burghers  upon  the  South  African  veldt. 
At  the  opening  of  the  bloody  affair,  a  good  deal  of  dis- 
cussion was  made  as  to  who  was  to  have  the  cavalry 
command  in  Natal.  General  French  was  not  one  of 
those  who  was  spoken  of  with  particular  fervor,  yet, 
very  soon  we  find  him  handling  the  horse  in  the  van  of 
the  British  armies,  and  news  began  to  come  over  the 
wires  of  victories  by  French's  cavalr\anen.  General 
Buller  had  kno\\ni  what  French  could  do  in  the  Nile 
campaign,  so  General  Buller  had  placed  the  Irishman 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  39 

ill  command  in  South  Africa,  and,  ten  days  after  the 
Boer  ultimatum  had  been  delivered  to  the  British 
agent  at  Pretoria,  French  was  in  Ladvsmith.  He  ar- 
rived there  on  October  20th,  181) J»,  at  five  a.  m.  At 
nine  a.  m.  he  was  in  the  saddle,  and  at  eleven  a.  m.  he 
was  leading  a  column  out  to  recapture  the  railway  sta- 
tion at  Elandslaagte.  The  Boers  were  driven  away  — 
after  a  stout  little  skirmish  —  and  word  was  brought 
forward  from  Ladysmith  that  the  garrison  was  sur- 
rounded and  needed  help.  So  back  went  General 
French  —  on  the  gallop.  It  was  hurry  up  or  all  would 
be  over  with  the  English  in  the  town. 

It  was  eight  o'clock  upon  a  summer  morning  that  the 
cavajry  —  enveloped  in  dust  —  drew  near  the  Boer 
laagers,  stretching  near  the  railway  station  of  Elaands- 
laagte.  A  slight  mist  covered  the  ground,  and,  as  it 
rose  upon  the  still  air,  the  enemy  could  be  seen  in  large 
numbers,  near  the  station,  about  a  colliery  building, 
and  near  the  track  of  the  steam  railroad.  The  Boers 
were  whooping  and  hallooing  —  their  hated  British  en- 
emies were  being  cooped  up  in  Ladysmith.  all  was  going 
well  with  them.  They  were  singing :  "  Down  with  the 
bloody  Britishers." 

As  they  said  this  —  poom  —  the  Natal  battery  began 
to  fire  upon  them  and  a  shell  exploded  in  their  midst. 
Out  of  their  shelters  piled  the  burghers,  leaving  be- 
hind them  a  trainload  of  British  soldiers,  captured  upon 
the  previous  night.  You  can  bet  that  the  Tommies 
escaped  to  join  with  their  fellows  in  quick  order.  Now 
—  with  a  blare  of  the  bugle  —  the  cavalry  went  into 
the  Boer  encampment  on  the  gallop,  and  the  men  of  the 


40  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

veldt  turned  and  ran.  The  first  blood  bad  been  for 
French.  Yet  the  Boers  were  onlv  temporarily  driven 
off  and  their  long  guns  soon  spoke  from  the  surrounding 
kopjes.  As  they  did  so  the  telegraph  wires  began  to 
TICK,  TICK,  from  Ladysmith.  General  George  White 
was  speaking,  and  he  said :  "  The  enemy  must  be 
beaten  off.  Time  of  great  importance.  For  God's 
sake  bring  up  your  men !  " 

The  Boers  were  smart  fellows  and  were  entrenched 
on  a  series  of  high,  bowlder-strcAvn  table  lands,  which 
offered  them  excellent  defense  and  perfect  cover.  Be- 
tween them  and  the  cavalry  of  French  lay  a  wide  and  yel- 
low patch  of  scrub-grown  veldt.  French  was  on  a 
ridge,  and,  as  he  held  it,  he  saw  infantry,  cavalry,  and 
artillery  coming  up  to  his  assistance.  Finally  his  force 
numbered  about  three  thousand  five  hundred  men,  or 
twice  as  many  as  the  hidden  Boers  had  with  them. 
There  could  thus  be  but  one  end  to  the  affair,  and  that 
would  be  a  British  victory. 

General  French  rode  out  and  ordered  a  simultaneous 
frontal  and  flank  attack.  "  The  enemy  are  there,"  he 
said,  "  and  I  hope  that  you  will  shift  them  out  before 
sunset.  In  fact,  I  know  that  you  will."  The  British 
Tommies  grinned. 

The  soldiers  advanced  to  clean  out  the  Boers,  and, 
when  the  action  had  fairly  commenced.  Sir  George 
White  and  his  staff  galloped  over  from  Ladysmith  in 
order  to  view  the  affair.  French  approached  them,  sa- 
luted, and  asked  for  his  instructions.  Smiling  upon 
him  with  great  good  humor,  the  chivalrous  White,  re- 
marked :     "  Go  on,  French !     This  is  your  show." 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  41 

The  sky  began  to  darken  with  inky  clouds  as  the  sol- 
diers advanced,  and,  as  the  Boers  began  to  shoot,  their 
positions  were  silhouetted  against  the  skyline  by  stray 
puffs  of  smoke.  The  artillery,  meanwhile,  shook  the 
ground  with  their  grumbling  roar  as  the  Tommies 
struggled  on  towards  where  the  burghers  were  hiding. 
As  the  roar  of  the  guns  increased,  the  howl  and  crash 
of  thunder  shook  the  skies.  It  was  a  fearful  vortex  of 
sound,  and  one  of  the  war  correspondents  says  that 
he  found  himself  humming  the  "  Eide  of  the  Valkyries  " 

—  an  awesome  piece  written  by  the  great  Richard  Wag- 
ner.    Yet  in  spite  of  this  diapason  of  sound,  the  Devons 

—  with  wild  cheers  —  crept  forward  upon  the  sedge- 
grown  veldt,  always  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  hills  in 
front,  where  the  puff,  puff,  of  the  guns  was  clear  and 
plain.  Up  eight  hundred  feet  they  stumbled  and  fell 
in  the  face  of  Mauser  and  shrapnel  —  up,  up,  always 
up  and  on  they  groped  their  way  as  many  fell  to  rise  no 
more.  At  length  the  top  of  the  ridge  had  been  reached 
and  lo  —  there  before  them  were  the  three  guns  which 
had  poured  shot  and  shell  among  them.  They  were 
silent  now,  while  around,  in  their  last  sleep,  were  ly- 
ing hundreds  of  Boer  farmers  in  frock  coats,  and  with 
sprigs  of  green  in  their  hats.  A  smile  was  upon  their 
faces  as  they  lay  there  in  windrows :  beaten  to  the  earth 
by  the  deadly  fire  of  the  Devons. 

Ta-ra-ta-ta  ! 

The  bugle's  notes  shrilled  out  a  blast  of  triumph  as 
the  Manchesters,  the  Devons,  and  the  Gordons  —  with  a 
cheer  —  now  threw  themselves  at  the  retreating  burgh- 
ers, who  still  kept  up  the  fighting. 


42  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

What  ho !  Suddenly,  and  without  warning,  a  white 
flag  was  seen  to  flutter  from  behind  a  kopje,  in  front 
The  Boers  had  had  a  great  sufficiency  and  wished  to 
collect  their  wounded.  French  had  scored  a  first  vic- 
tory for  the  men  from  the  foggy  isle  in  the  far  north. 
From  now  on  he  was  to  be  called  French  "  The  Lucky  " 
and  not  "  Old  Trees."  Thus  ended  the  battle  of 
Elandslaagte,  which  means  the  place  where  the  elands 

—  you've  seen  them  in  the  Zoo  —  like  to  lie  down. 
But  some  one  else  lay  down  here  —  and  it  was  not  an 
antelope  either. 

After  the  battle  nice  things  began  to  be  said  about 
this  dapper  little  Irishman,  and  Julian  Ralph  —  an 
American  journalist  —  wrote :  ''  lie  is  quiet,  undemon- 
strative, easy,  and  gentle.  When  you  are  under  his 
command  you  don't  notice  him,  you  don't  think  about 
him  —  unless  you  are  a  soldier,  and  then  you  are  glad 
that  you  are  here." 

A  soldier  has  said  that,  when  towns  and  railway 
stations  were  captured,  the  English  Tommies  would  find 
allusions  to  the  English  cavalr\-man  chalked  upon  the 
walls.     One  read: 

"  We  are  not  fighting  the  English  —  they  do  not  count 

—  we  are  only  fighting  the  '  French.'  " 

At  one  farmhouse  was  found  written  upon  a  white- 
washed board: 

"  Why  are  we  bound  to  win  ?  Because,  although  we 
have  only  ninety  thousand  burghers  that  means  ninety 
thousand  Generals  —  but  the  English,  though  they  pos- 
sess two  hundred  thousand  soldiers,  have  only  one  Gen- 
eral —  and  he  is  French," 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  43 

And  even  one  of  those  donble-laced,  Kaiser-ridden, 
step-straight-or-I'U-knock-you-down  German  officers  of 
the  General  Staff  in  Berlin,  when  Berlin  was  a  military 
hotbed,  said  of  him : 

"  General  French's  name  is  the  most  dreaded  of  all 
the  Englishmen.  lie  impresses  his  troops  with  his 
strong  and  resolnte  personality." 

The  war,  meanwhile,  went  merrily  on  and  England 
found  that  this  handful  of  Boer  farmers  could  put  up 
as  excellent  fight  as  could  be  wished.  The  burghers, 
in  fact,  were  a  hard  lot  to  beat,  and,  as  more  and  more 
men  poured  into  South  Africa,  the  time  seemed  to  be 
far  distant  when  the  map  of  Southern  Africa  would  be 
all  red.  General  French  was  kept  quite  busy,  and,  as 
the  Boers  continued  to  sun-ound  Ladysmith,  he  and  Gen- 
eral White  determined  to  attack.  It  was  that,  or  wait- 
ing painfully  long  to  be  relieved. 

On  October  30th,  the  British  filed  out  to  the  attack 
in  three  columns,  determined,  if  possible,  to  beat  back 
the  advancing  Boers,  to  put  them  to  flight,  and  to  save 
Ladysmith  from  complete  envelopment.  On  the  left. 
Colonel  Carleton  was  to  advance  and  seize  a  long  ridge 
called  i^icholson's  ISTek,  some  six  miles  north  of  Lady- 
smith.  This  would  protect  the  British  left  wing,  while 
on  the  right  the  infantry  was  to  advance  under  cover  of 
French's  cavalry  and  mounted  infantry.  In  the  center 
the  artillery  was  to  go  forward.  If  all  went  well  the 
Boers  would  be  driven  out  of  their  position,  and  a  part 
of  their  force  would  be  surrounded  and  captured.  It 
looked  like  an  excellent  plan,  but  it  did  not  work  out 
as  well  as  General  White  had  wished. 


44  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

Disaster  was  in  store  for  the  English  columns,  and, 
as  Carleton's  force  went  forward,  the  mules  from  the 
battery  bolted,  leaving  the  guns  behind,  so  that  they 
could  not  be  moved.  N'ot  daunted,  the  men  went  on- 
ward, breasted  Nicholson's  Nek  in  the  darkness  and  — 
without  artillery  —  suddenly  found  themselves  sur- 
rounded by  an  overwhelming  host  of  Boers.  After  grim 
fighting,  the  gunless  column  was  made  to  surrender. 
The  central  force  of  guns  was  no  match  for  the  Boer 
artillery,  and  it  was  compelled  to  retire.  On  the  right 
French  advanced  —  with  his  cavalrymen  —  fought  all 
day,  but  was  also  made  to  retreat.  It  became  perfectly 
plain  that  Ladysmith  would  become  completely  invested 
by  the  victorious  Boers,  so  General  French  determined 
to  get  through  while  there  was  still  time  for  it.  He 
consequently  escaped  by  train  to  Pietermaritsburg,  and, 
although  shot  at  en  route,  was  not  wounded  by  the  Boer 
bullets.  French  —  the  lucky  —  was  having  his  usual 
luck. 

The  British  army  was  in  a  serious  position,  and, 
when  General  French  went  to  Cape  Towm  to  consult 
with  General  Buller,  he  found  that  his  chief  was  ex- 
ceedingly worried  over  the  outlook.  Sir  George  White 
and  his  force  were  surrounded  in  Ladysmith ;  Mafeking 
and  Kimberly  were  both  invested  by  the  enemy,  and 
a  great  invasion  was  threatened  along  the  entire  north- 
ern boundary  of  Cape  Colony.  In  order  to  deal  with 
all  of  these  troublous  situations  Buller  had  only  one 
army  corps,  disposed  as  follows:  One  column,  under 
Lord  Methuen,  was  advancing  to  the  relief  of  Kimberly ; 
another,  under  General  Gatacre,  was  attempting  to  hold 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  45 

in  check  the  Boer  invasion  of  Cape  Colony;  while  a 
third,  to  be  controlled  by  Bnller,  himself,  was  massing 
at  Chievely,  prior  to  advancing  to  the  relief  of  Lady- 
smith.  To  General  French  was  given  the  command  of 
a  fourth  column  which  was  to  harass  the  burghers  around 
Colesburg. 

At  this  work  the  intrepid  general  showed  himself 
to  be  adept,  and  when  —  by  the  end  of  the  year  — 
Lord  Roberts  arrived  upon  the  scene,  he  sent  immedi- 
ately for  the  stolid  Irishman  in  order  to  intrust  him  with 
a  serious  task:  the  relief  of  Kimberly. 

"  I  want  you  to  do  what  Lord  Methuen  has  failed 
to  do,"  said  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  British 
forces. 

French  smiled,  as  he  answered: 

"  I  promise  faithfully  to  relieve  Kimberly  at  6  o'clock 
on  the  evening  of  the  15th,  if  I  am  alive." 

The  brilliant  cavalryman  set  immediately  to  work  to 
perfect  his  plan  of  attack,  and,  at  his  camp  on  the 
Modder  river,  gathered  four  thousand  eight  hundred 
men,  with  seven  batteries  of  Horse  artillery.  He  was 
about  one  hundred  miles  from  the  mining  town  of 
Kimberly,  while  between  him  and  his  objective,  lay 
General  Cronje,  with  a  force  as  large  as  French's  o^vn. 
It  was  summer  —  the  air  was  hot  —  and  the  arid  veldt 
lay  in  front,  unwatered  and  without  animal  life.  The 
task  in  the  fore  was  no  easy  one,  and,  had  a  man  of 
less  courage  been  there  only  failure  would  have  resulted 
in  an  advance.  The  General  set  his  square  jaw  and 
looked  ahead  of  him :  He  would,  could,  and  must  suc- 
ceed. 


46  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

In  front  was  a  pass  in  the  hills  called  the  Pass  of 
Magersfontein,  and,  in  order  to  make  the  Boer  leader 
Cronje  believe  that  he  was  about  to  force  this  in  order 
to  relieve  Ladysmith,  and  not  Kimberlj,  the  English 
General  sent  numerous  cavalry  patrols  to  harass  the 
Boer  pickets  stationed  there.  It  was  a  bluff  —  pure  and 
simple  —  but  it  worked  only  too  well,  for  the  suspicious 
Cronje  hastened  thither  with  a  large  command,  eagerly 
expecting  to  be  attacked  in  force. 

There  was  still  another  way  to  go  forward,  by  Koo- 
deesberg's  Drift  towards  the  west,  and  here,  too,  the 
cavalry  under  Macdonald,  spent  a  strenuous  day  in 
threatening  to  advance.  This,  also,  was  a  bluff  —  the 
real  advance  was  to  be  by  Waterval  Drift  towards  the 
east,  where  the  Boers  would  have  few  scouts.  When 
all  was  ready,  the  long  lines  of  khaki-clad  cavalrymen 
defiled  to  the  vcklt  from  their  canvas  camp,  and  the 
great  advance  on  Kimberly  had  begun. 

As  the  General  advanced  —  poom  —  came  the  sound 
of  a  Boer  gun,  and,  with  a  resounding  crash,  a  shell  ex- 
ploded between  French  and  his  staff  officers.  The  Irish- 
man looked  quizzically  around,  as  he  remarked: 
"  There  are  too  many  of  us  riding  together.  We  must 
keep  apart."  Then  he  rode  forward  in  order  to  recon- 
noiter  the  ground  from  the  top  of  a  neighboring  kopje. 
In  a  few  moments  the  Horse  Artillery  had  the  gun  si- 
lenced, and,  as  the  British  troops  swerved  towards  the 
right  flank  and  headed  for  the  Biet  river,  the  burghers 
drew  off  in  order  to  fight  them  as  they  were  crossing. 

I^ow  was  a  race  for  the  ford.  The  Tommies  spurred 
onward,  galloping  for  the  De  Kiel's  Drift,  while  the 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  47 

burghers  —  appreciating  what  they  were  after  —  en- 
deavored to  get  there  first.  It  was  a  neck-and-neck  af- 
fair, but  the  English  were  able  to  get  there  before  the 
burghers,  and,  by  midnight,  the  entire  division  of  troops 
marching  Kimberly-ward,  was  able  to  cross  and  bivouac 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  stream,  pending  the  arrival 
of  the  baggage-train,  left  far  in  the  rear,  and  plowing 
along  in  a  sea  of  dust.  The  Boers  retreated  out  of 
reach  of  shell  and  bullet,  and,  as  night  fell,  the  moon 
shone  red  in  the  sky,  which  was  —  said  some  —  an 
auspicious  omen  for  success. 

The  heat  was  intense,  and  the  scorching  summer  sun 
knocked  out  many  a  good,  American  horse,  transported 
from  Texas  to  faraway  South  Africa  in  order  to  help 
win  the  war.  Over  one  hundred  died  upon  that  day 
alone,  and  as  they  fell  to  the  ground,  the  men  were 
forced  to  trudge  along  over  the  veldt  until  they  reached 
some  ammunition  cart.  Water  was  scarce.  Wells  were 
few  and  far  between,  so,  when  the  column  advanced  next 
day,  it  had  its  own  troubles.  The  horses  became  worn 
out,  and  so  tired  were  they  that  the  General's  gallopers, 
or  orderlies,  who  were  continually  traversing  the 
column,  in  front,  were  unable  to  spur  their  mounts  to 
anything  swifter  than  a  walk. 

The  river  bent  and  swT.ing  at  this  place,  and,  in  order 
to  get  at  the  Boers,  the  column  had  to  cross  another 
bend.  Consequently  it  was  headed  towards  Klip  Kraal 
Drift,  but,  seeing  this  move,  the  Boers  attacked  on  the 
right.  The  column  was,  accordingly,  bent  away  from 
this  crossing,  and,  as  the  Boers  pursued,  the  force  again 
headed  for  the  Klip  Drift.     The  burghers  were  non- 


48  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

plussed  and  retreated  backward,  and  as  they  did  so  the 
entire  British  army  —  in  two  divisions  —  Broadwood 
on  the  right,  and  Gordon  on  the  left,  went  after  them. 
The  Englishmen  crossed  the  river  and  routed  the  en- 
emy on  the  other  side  with  little  difficulty,  while  the 
entire  supply  train  of  the  burghers  fell  into  their  hands. 
Cronje,  himself,  rade  dejectedly  from  the  scene. 

As  the  staff  officers  went  through  the  ford,  or  drift, 
one  of  the  lieutenants  plunged  into  an  eddy  and  caught 
some  geese.  He  swung  them  onto  his  saddle  and  went 
upon  his  way  rejoicing.  When  the  soldiers  bivouacked 
that  evening  a  pig  ran  the  gauntlet  of  the  camp  — 
amidst  roars  of  laughter,  even  from  the  serious  and 
care-worn  General  French,  himself  —  and  dodged  past 
lances,  bayonets,  knives,  sticks,  boots,  water-bottles,  and 
swords,  until  caught  by  a  frisky  Tommy,  who  shared 
him  with  his  friends  that  evening.  A  wagon  of  fresh 
fruit  was  also  captured,  and  in  it  were  many  baskets 
of  grapes  —  sweet,  and  not  sour,  as  you  might  think. 

The  Boers  had  retreated  —  that  was  true  —  but  they 
kept  up  a  fierce  sniping  upon  every  side,  and  with 
their  keen  eyesight  picked  off  many  a  private.  One  of 
the  General's  Aide-de-Camps  rode  out  to  lead  Lord  Kit- 
chener and  his  staff  into  camp,  and,  although  fired  at 
by  many  a  Boer  marksman,  he  succeeded  in  getting 
through. 

Next  day  the  army  advanced  towards  Bloemfontein, 
and,  scarcely  had  the  advance  begun,  when  a  murder- 
ous fire  broke  out  from  the  river,  on  the  southwest. 
Also,  on  the  northwest  a  sheet  of  rifle-fire  blazed  forth, 
and   the    army   under   French    was    in    a    current    of 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  49 

cross-fire.     From  every  kopje  and  hill  spouted  bullets. 
What  was  General  I'rench  going  to  do  i 
Sweeping  the  horizon  with  his  glass,  as  horses  snort- 
ing with  fear,  and  riderless,  galloped  past,  he  muttered 
as  he  squared  his  pugnacious  jaw: 

"  They  are  over  here  to  stop  us  from  Bloemfontein 
and  they  are  there  to  stop  us  from  Kimberly  —  we  have 
got  to  break  through."  He  was  about  to  attempt  a 
seemingly  impossible  task, —  a  cavalry  charge,  as  the 
bullets  spat  death  in  his  face. 

Now  occurred  one  of  the  great  charges  in  history : 
All  around,  in  front  of  the  British  army,  were  the 
burghers.  Crouching  behind  hummocks  and  hastily 
made  breast-works  they  glared  down  upon  the  khaki- 
coated  and  dust-stained  Britishers,  as  they  sang  a  strange 
hymn  of  Dutch  origin.  A  tornado  of  shell-fire  and  bul- 
lets rained  down  upon  the  advancing  Tommies,  who, 
with  jaws  set  and  faces  bronzed,  marched  forward  as 
did  Caesar's  veterans  in  Gaul.  In  front  were  the  Ninth 
and  the  Sixteenth  Lancers  —  Gordon  in  command  — 
and  a  man  of  the  old  Scottish  fighting  clan.  Their 
horses  were  in  a  pitiable  state,  because  of  the  heat  and 
dust,  but,  in  spite  of  this  they  went  on,  and,  pointing 
their  lances  straight  forward,  rode  up  the  heights  which 
stood  between  them  and  the  spitting  rifles.  On,  on,  they 
galloped,  until  —  before  you  knew  it  —  they  were  right 
amongst  the  guns.  Do\vn  went  riders  and  horses  in 
clouds  of  dust.  Guns  spat,  wailing  cries  ascended  to 
the  sky,  and  fierce  cries  of  "  Surrender !  "  "  Sur- 
render !  "  came  from  the  throats  of  the  burghers,  as 
throwing  down  their  long  rifles  they  begged  for  mercy. 


50  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

The  Lancers  ploughed  through  the  trenches,  slashing  to 
right  and  left,  while,  behind  them,  in  perfect  order, 
swept  the  entire  division.  The  Boers  broke  and  ran 
pell-mell,  pursued  by  the  exultant  Lancers,  and  as  Gen- 
eral French  trotted  forward  with  his  staff  his  eyes 
twinkled.  The  Irishman  had  again  done  the  seemingly 
impossible. 

A  halt  was  made  in  order  that  the  artillery  might  be 
advanced,  and  as  the  guns  barked  out  their  slogans  of 
death  at  the  retreating  followers  of  Oom  Paul  Kruger, 
the  force  went  onward,  until  —  in  the  distance  —  ap- 
peared the  smoke-stacks  of  Kimberly.  A  weak  and 
tired  cheer  came  from  the  dusty  throats  of  the  British 
— Kimberly  was  relieved  —  and  the  heliograph  went 
"  spat,"  "  spat,"  "  spat  "  as  it  tremulously  told  the  news 
to  waiting  and  watching  thousands.  Hurray!  Hur- 
ray !  The  conquest  of  South  Africa  had  begun  auspici- 
ously. 

Well!  Well!  Well!  About  six  o'clock  that  even- 
ing, an  officer  rode  out  of  the  besieged  city  to  meet 
the  soldier  who  had  saved  it.  At  seven  o'clock,  just 
one  hour  after  General  French  had  promised  to  be 
there,  the  Irishman  entered  the  main  street  with  his 
staff.  Eagerly  the  officer  from  the  town  gripped  him 
by  the  hand,  saying :  "  Thank  God,  General,  you  are 
here."  That  night  they  all  dined  at  the  DeBeer's  Sana- 
torium, where  someone  sang,  with  a  good  baritone  voice: 
"  God  Save  the  Queen." 

Next  morning  the  news  was  brought  in: 

"  Cronje  has  evacuated  ^Ia,2:ersfontein." 

All  started  up,  for  the  old  fox  was  crafty  and  he  was 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  51 

apparently  bent  on  escape.     Then,   a  bit  later,  came 
word  from  Lord  Kitchener,  which  was: 

'^  Cronje,  with  ten  thousand  men,  is  in  full  retreat 
from  Magersfontein.  He  is  moving  along  the  north 
bank  of  the  Modder  river  toward  Bloemfontein.  I  have 
already  had  a  rear-guard  action  with  him.  If  you  — 
with  all  available  horse  —  will  prevent  his  crossing  the 
river,  the  infantry  from  Klip  Drift  will  press  on  and 
annihilate,  or  take  the  entire  force  prisoners." 

Alas !  Of  his  five  thousand  troopers  only  two  thou- 
sand could  be  found  whose  horses  were  fit  to  carry  them 
in  a  dash  to  head  off  the  fleeing  Boer  leader.  Yet  — 
to  the  shrill  call  of  the  bugle  —  they  left  Kimberly  at 
three  a.  m.  on  February  l7th,  and,  making  straight 
for  Koodoos  Eand  Drift,  happened  to  steer  for  the 
very  crossing  which  Cronje  himself  had  taken.  Horses 
dropped  out  on  the  way,  but,  almost  within  view  of  the 
cautious  Boer,  French  and  his  troopers  seized  the  Drift 
and  had  the  burghers  cut  off.  Lord  Kitchener  was 
coming  up  in  his  rear  —  French  was  in  front  of  him  — 
all  that  was  left  for  him  to  do  was  to  intrench  and 
fight  it  out.  So  swiftly  Cronje  moved  his  army  down 
the  river  and  took  possession  of  a  long  neck  of  sandy 
soil  between  Paardeberg  Drift  and  Wolvesgral  Drift. 
He  was  hopelessly  bottled  up. 

The  Boer  Fox  lay  still  within  his  river-bed  encamp- 
ment as  the  British  foe  closed  slowly  but  surely  in 
upon  him  on  every  side.  The  net  was  drawn  —  he 
could  not  get  away  —  and,  as  the  artillery  rained  lyddite 
and  shrapnel  into  his  laager,  the  burghers  knew  that 
the  jig  was  up.     Meanwhile,  the  Boers  flocked  in  to 


52  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

aid  him  from  every  side,  but  French  was  sent  out 
to  check  them,  while  the  main  body  kept  up  its  con- 
tinuous hammer,  hammer,  hammer,  at  poor,  beaten 
Cronje.  The  shells  ripped  and  tore  through  his 
encampment,  killing  men  and  horses.  It  was  a  veri- 
table Inferno.  No  human  beings  could  stand  such 
punishment. 

At  length  the  white  flag  went  up.  Cronje  was  beaten, 
yet  —  game  to  the  last  —  he  came  out  to  deliver  his 
four  thousand  men  with  ill  grace.  It  was  February 
27th,  and,  as  the  bagpipes  of  the  Gordon  Highlanders 
shrilled  a  reel  upon  the  arid  wastes  of  South  Africa, 
the  telegraph  bore  the  news  to  every  part  of  the  civilized 
globe,  bearing  joy  to  those  who  sympathized  with  the 
British  arms,  and  gloom  to  those  who  hoped  to  see  the 
Boer  Republic  established.  To  General  French  and 
his  cavalrymen  was  mainly  due  this  timely  capitulation, 
for,  in  the  face  of  heat,  dust,  fatigue,  and  lack  of 
water,  they  had  headed  off  the  Boers  and  had  beaten 
them  at  their  owm  game.  Yet  the  war  was  not  yet 
over  and  the  South  Africans  had  yet  to  be  ''  rounded 
up." 

A  correspondent  says  of  General  French :  "  He  is 
perfectly  accessible  to  anyone,  but  speaks  very  little 
when  addressed.  He  must  be  a  fine  judge  of  men,  for 
he  has  a  splendid  staff  around  him  —  splendid  in  the 
sense  that  they  are  all  soldierly  like  himself,  and  are  all 
active  and  useful.  Judging  from  the  way  his  men  live 
in  the  country  when  they  are  swarming  over  it,  he 
must  be  eas^',  as  true  soldiers  are  in  those  situations, 
though  the  discipline  of  the  rank  and  file  is  excellent. 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  53 

You  do  not  notice  his  dress,  but,  if  you  should,  it  would 
seem  to  be  more  serviceable  than  smart.*' 

That  the  General  had  a  sense  of  humor  is  well 
illustrated  by  the  following  incident : 

One  night  he  stopped  in  a  Boer  house,  where  he 
shook  hands  with  each  member  of  the  family,  saying 
pleasant  things  to  them.  This  seemed  to  please  them 
greatly,  but  one  of  their  number  appeared  to  be  quite 
war-like,  for  he  said :  "  I  would  be  fighting  you  if  I 
had  not  got  consumption." 

The  General  laughed,  as  he  replied :  "  Oh,  I  am 
sorry  to  hear  that  you  are  ill.  I  hope  that  you  will 
soon  get  better." 

As  for  Cronje,  his  capture  did  not  give  General 
Trench  any  rest,  for,  upon  the  very  day  that  this  South 
African  lion  surrendered,  news  came  that  a  rescue  party 
was  coming  to  his  assistance  and  already  held  a  hill  on 
the  southeast  of  the  Modder  Eiver,  which  was  much 
flooded  by  recent  rains.  General  French  thought  it 
best  to  lead  out  two  brigades  —  with  their  batteries  — 
in  order  to  make  a  reconnaissance. 

The  General  endeavored  to  ford  the  river  —  mounted 
upon  a  spirited  horse  —  but  when  he  was  in  the  middle 
of  the  stream,  the  animal  slipped  and  fell  with  him, 
flinging  him  into  the  midst  of  the  swirling  current. 
He  clung  to  the  saddle  girth,  and,  as  the  charger 
struggled  in  mid-stream,  it  upset  Colonel  Haig  —  now 
the  famous  leader  of  the  British  army.  The  Colonel 
was  swimming  to  the  rescue,  and,  as  he  himself  went 
down,  he  was  swung  into  the  branches  of  an  overhanging 
willow-tree.     The  horses  now  plunged  forward,  while 


54  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

Haig  and  French  swam  to  shore,  and,  dripping  yet 
determined,  jumped  upon  fresh  mounts  and  advanced 
across  the  veldt  in  the  direction  of  the  Boers.  But 
seeing  the  approach  of  the  English  the  burghers  had 
withdrawn  to  a  safe  distance. 

"  Well,  how  do  you  feel,  old  top  ?  "  asked  General 
French,  as  he  scrambled  to  the  bank.  "  I  feel,  myself, 
like  a  drowned  rat." 

"  Why  —  I  am  feeling  fine,"  said  Haig,  blowing  the 
sand  out  of  his  mouth.  "Only  my  revolver  won't  work, 
and  a  detested  burgher  may  be  nearby." 

"  'No  fear,"  chuckled  General  French,  "  the  Boers 
are  on  the  hike,  as  fast  away  from  us  as  they  can  go." 

Gaining  fresh  mounts  from  their  men,  the  two  well- 
known  military  leaders  now  hurried  after  the  Boers, 
but,  as  the  Commander-in-Chief  had  said,  it  was  quite 
obvious  that  General  DeWet  had  no  intention  to  remain 
quiescent  and  stand  up  to  the  advancing  British  horse. 
DeWet  and  Delarey  —  his  artillery  officer  —  escaped 
with  all  their  guns,  and.  under  the  eye  of  Oom  Paul 
Kruger,  himself,  rode  safely  away  towards  Pretoria. 
The  British  cavalrymen  —  urging  their  horses  forward, 
unsuccessfully  endeavored  to  catch  up  with  the  foe. 

The  Boers  collected  at  a  place  called  Poplar  Grove, 
but,  remaining  here  only  a  short  time,  pushed  back  to 
Dreifontein,  where  French  and  his  cavalrymen  began  to 
surround  them.  Xext,  the  burghers  dropped  backward 
to  Bloemfontein,  but,  making  only  a  weak  defense  of 
this  place,  they  again  retreated,  and  the  town  sur- 
rendered on  March  13th.  French  and  his  hard-riders 
rested  here  for  six  weeks,  mainly  to  gain  remounts  for 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  55 

the  cavalry,  and,  as  they  camped  in  comparative  com- 
fort, their  patrols  continually  scoured  the  country 
nearby,  keeping  in  constant  touch  M^ith  the  keen-eyed 
Boer  scouts,  and  driving  them  back  whenever  they  hit 
them.  Describing  the  General  at  this  time,  a  writer 
has  said :  "  General  French  is  quite  the  shyest  man  m 
the  entire  British  army,  and  looks  less  like  a  cavalryman 
than  anyone  whom  you  could  imagine.  He  is  a  heavy 
man,  always  looks  half  asleep  —  although  who  is  more 
wide  awake?  —  has  a  very  red  complexion,  gray  mus- 
tache, thick-set  figure,  and  is  so  reticent  that  he  will 
hardly  ever  talk." 

While  the  cavalry  rested  and  recuperated  at  Bloem- 
fontein.  Lord  Roberts  was  coming  up  with  the  main 
British  army,  and,  by  May  the  first,  the  troops  had 
the  opportunity  of  again  advancing  to  the  attack.  The 
infantry  preceded  the  cavalry,  General  French  being  one 
of  the  last  to  leave  the  town  of  Bloemfontein,  but,  over- 
taking Lord  Roberts  at  Kronstad,  they  quickly  came  into 
action  with  the  Boers.  By  a  turning  movement,  the 
burghers  were  forced  to  surrender  the  town,  and,  as 
they  dropped  backward.  Lord  Roberts  crossed  the  Vaal 
River  with  his  army.  French,  meanwhile,  was  first 
at  the  outskirts  of  Johannesburg,  which  the  British 
entered  on  May  31st.  The  Boers  had  decamped,  were 
on  their  way  to  Pretoria,  their  capital,  and  as  the  British 
troops  approached,  also  retired  from  this  famous  tovm. 

It  was  the  close  of  the  reign  of  Oom  Paul  in  South 
Africa.  While  sad-eyed  and  stolid  Dutch  women  looked 
timidly  out  from  their  farmhouses  next  day  they  saw 
the  dust-stained  British  columns  streaming  by.     To  the 


56  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

boom  of  the  bass-drums  and  to  ,the  shrill  tones  of  the 
bag-pipes,  the  conquerors  of  South  Africa  —  the  hawk- 
nosed,  clear-eyed  Britishers  —  marched  with  a  swinging 
stride  through  the  streets. 

"  French !  "  said  Lord  Eoberts  to  his  able  cavalry 
officer,  "  push  the  Boers  east  by  a  turning  movement  on 
their  flank !     I  will  follow  by  a  frontal  attack  on  foot." 

The  cavalry-leader  nodded  and  rode  off  to  lead  his 
dust-stained  horsemen  once  more  to  the  advance. 

The  burghers  were  upon  some  ridges,  the  chief  of 
which  was  known  as  Diamond  Hill.  They  threw  a 
steady  stream  of  bullets  into  the  British  as  they  ad- 
vanced, but  the  cavalrjTnen  dismounted, —  fighting  their 
way  up  to  the  summit  on  foot.  Thus  they  occupied 
themselves  for  two  full  days,  until  Lord  Roberts'  men 
came  up  from  Pretoria  —  struck  the  infantry  in  the 
front,  and  allowed  French  and  his  men  to  drive  the 
hard-fighting  farmers  from  their  position.  Unfor- 
tunately for  the  British  the  horses  of  the  cavalry  brigade 
were  pretty  well  spent,  otherwise  the  Boers  could  not 
have  again  escaped.  DeWet  made  off  to  continue  a 
desultory  warfare  for  many  months,  his  force  splitting 
up  into  several  bands  of  marauding  bush-whackers. 

Enraged  and  discomfited  by  the  numerous  surprises 
which  the  British  sprung  upon  them,  the  Boers  often 
began  sniping  from  various  vantage  points  in  captured 
villages  and  to\^^ls.  But  General  French  knew  how  to 
treat  these  fellows,  as  the  following  proclamation,  issued 
at  the  town  of  Barberton,  will  testify : 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  57 

TO    THE    INHABITANTS    OF    BARBERTON : 

This  is  to  give  notice  that,  if  any  shooting  into  the 
town  cr  sniping  in  its  vicinity  takes  place,  the  Lieuten- 
ant-General  commanding  will  withdraw  the  Troops  and 
will  shell  the  town  without  further  notice. 

By  order, 

D.  IIaig,  Lt.  Col., 
Chief  Staff  Officer  to  Lt.  General  French. 
Sept.  5th,  1900. 

ISTeedless  to  remark,  the  sniping  stopped  immediately. 

The  Boers  were  now  about  done  for,  and,  during  the 
early  part  of  1901,  the  cavalry  leader  was  able  to  clear 
the  fighting  farmers  out  of  the  central  district  of  Cape 
Colony.  On  June  Sth,  he  took  supreme  command  of 
the  operations  of  the  district,  and  by  the  end  of  Novem- 
ber, the  enemy  had  been  driven  to  its  northeastern  and 
its  southwestern  extremities.  In  August,  1902,  the 
now-famous  General  was  able  to  return  to  England. 
Thus,  unheralded,  unheeded,  and  quietly,  the  fighting 
Irishman  sailed  to  the  old  country,  now  possessing 
more  Empire  than  ever  held  by  Greece  or  Rome. 
For  a  second  time  the  taciturn  leader  went  into 
retirement,  until  —  wakened  by  the  booming  guns  in 
Belgium  —  he  was  again  in  action :  for  Great  Britain 
had  waked  to  find  herself  engaged  in  the  bloodiest  con- 
test of  all  history.  Who  was  to  lead  her  forces  ?  Who 
but  the  well-tried  leader  of  the  Nile  campaign  and  the 
fighting  upon  the  veldt  of  South  Africa  ?  Who,  but 
silent,  ready,  square-shouldered,  bandy-legged  General 
French. 


58  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

On  August  15th,  1914,  the  British  army  was  across 
the  channel  and  at  its  camp  on  the  hills  above  Boulogne. 
On  Saturday,  August  22d,  they  came  in  touch  with 
the  Germans  and  the  great  fight  had  begun. 

The  arrival  upon  French  soil  of  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  British  Expeditionary  Force  was  the  signal 
for  a  great  popular  outburst  upon  the  part  of  the  French 
people,  whose  enthusiasm  and  joy  were  unbounded. 
France  would  not  have  to  fight  these  blood-thirsty  Ger- 
mans alone,  that  was  certain,  and  as,  standing  upon  the 
quarter-deck  of  the  scout  Sentinel,  Sir  John  French  was 
recognized,  the  cheering  was  deafening.  When  the 
massive  gray  warship  slipped  up  to  the  side  of  the 
quay,  and  the  British  General,  smiling  with  pleasure, 
walked  across  the  gangway,  the  cheering  was  redoubled, 
and  the  strains  of  the  British  national  anthem  were 
intermingled  with  that  of  the  Marseillaise. 

At  this  propitious  moment,  the  ''  Figaro  "  —  a  promi- 
nent Parisian  paper  —  paid  this  compliment  to  the 
British  leader :  "  Here  he  is  —  French  —  a  name  of 
good  omen.  The  splendid  soldier,  the  most  eminent  of 
popular  leaders  among  our  neighbors,  has  been  placed, 
as  everyone  expected  in  Britain,  and  everyone  hoped  in 
our  army,  at  the  head  of  the  admirable  troops  who  bring 
their  support  to  the  cause  of  the  right." 

And,  as  persons  were  reading  this,  the  Kaiser  issued 
the  following  proclamation  to  his  gray-clad  legions: 

''  It  is  my  Royal  and  Imperial  command  that  you 
concentrate  your  energies  for  the  immediate  present 
upon  one  single  purpose,  and  that  is  that  you  address 
all  your  skill  and  all  the  valor  of  mv  soldiers  to  exter- 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  59 

minate  first  the  treacherous  English,  and  walk  over 
General  French's  contemptible  little  army." 

In  spite  of  this  insult,  the  British  force  was  in  the 
best  of  spirits.  Holding  the  extreme  left  of  the  Allies' 
position  they  had  the  duty  of  repelling  any  frontal 
attack,  and  preventing  any  enveloping  movement. 

The  cavalry  divisions  were  well  in  front,  and  on  the 
22d  and  23d  of  August  these  advance  squadrons  did 
some  excellent  work,  some  of  them  penetrating  the  Ger- 
man position  as  far  as  Soignes.  But  the  Germans  were 
coming  up  in  force,  and,  on  Sunday  the  23d,  word 
came  in  that  they  were  commencing  an  attack  on  the 
Mons  line,  between  Mons  and  Bray.  To  the  right 
of  the  British  line  the  French  were  retiring,  and,  met 
by  an  overwhelming  onrush  of  Germans,  the  British 
also  had  to  begin  a  retreat.  This  they  did  doggedly 
and  firmly,  as  becomes  the  British  character. 

A  new  line  for  the  British  army  had  been  established 
by  General  French  at  Varmand,  to  St.  Quentin  and 
Eibemont,  and  to  this  the  troops  fell  back,  their  retreat 
covered  by  the  cavalry,  under  General  Allenby,  who 
was  subsequently  to  conquer  Jerusalem.  Closely  fol- 
lowed by  the  Kaiser's  best,  the  entire  force  fought,  as 
they  turned  backwards,  suffering  a  loss  of  between  seven 
hundred  and  a  thousand  men.  The  army  was  slowly 
and  doggedly  fighting  a  rear-guard  action  —  showing 
the  Kaiser  what  that  contemptible  little  force  could  ac- 
complish. Meanwhile,  far  to  the  southwest  of  them, 
the  French,  too,  were  falling  back  to  the  Mame,  deter- 
mined to  do  or  die  near  the  river  of  that  name  just  as 
their  forebears  had  done  centuries  before,  when  Attila 


60  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

the  Hun  attempted  to  invade  the  fair  land  of  France. 
General  French  —  keenly  alive  to  the  terrible  battle 
that  was  raging  —  was  watching  developments  with  an 
eagle  eye.  As  he  rode  by  in  his  motor  car,  one  day, 
he  was  greeted  by  a  song  to  the  tune  of  "  D'ye  ken  John 
Peel,"  which  ran : 

"  D'ye  ken  John  French,  with  his  khaki  suit, 
His  belt  and  gaiters  and  stout  brown  boots. 
Along  with  his  guns,  and  his  horse,  and  his  foot, 
On  the  road  to  Berlin  in  the  morning." 

"  Yes,  we  ken  John  French  and  Joffre,  too, 
And  all  of  his  men  of  the  Tricolor  true. 
And  Belgians  and  Russians,  a  jolly  good  few, 
On  the  road  to  Berlin  in  the  morning." 

General  French  smiled  and  whirled  onward. 

The  Prussian  soldiers  fought  with  a  complete  dis- 
regard for  life  that  was  magnificent.  Time  after  time 
they  would  hurl  themselves  against  the  British  line 
with  a  force  that  was  seemingly  irresistible.  But  every 
shock  was  repulsed  by  a  steadiness  and  bravery  that,  so 
far  as  one  can  judge,  was  worthy  of  the  finest  traditions 
of  the  British  army.  As  one  German  peasant  regi- 
ment after  another  was  driven  back,  its  place  was 
taken  by  fresh  troops.  The  flower  of  the  German  cav- 
alry was  brought  into  action,  only  to  be  cut  to  pieces 
with  fearful  slaughter.  The  British  artillery  simply 
plowed  great  gaps  in  the  German  ranks.  The  British 
bayonet  charges  were  irresistible  and  the  fields  were 
covered  with  mounds  of  dead. 

Daring    deeds    were    often    reported    officially.     On 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  61 

August  26tli  at  LeCateau,  the  whole  of  the  officers  and 
men  of  one  of  the  British  batteries  had  been  killed  or 
wounded,  with  the  exception  of  one  subaltern  and  two 
gunners.  These  continued  to  fire,  and  came  unhurt 
from  the  battlefield.  On  another  occasion  a  portion  of 
a  supply  column  was  cut  oif  by  a  detachment  of  German 
cavalry  and  the  officer  in  charge  was  summoned  to 
surrender.  He  refused,  and,  starting  his  motors  off  at 
full  speed,  dashed  safely  through,  losing  two  lorries. 

It  was  a  four  days  of  terrific  fighting  —  by  the 
29th  of  August  General  Joffre  visited  the  English  Head- 
quarters where  he  saw  the  serious  predicament  that 
the  English  troops  were  in,  and,  with  a  due  regard  for 
the  safeguarding  of  Paris,  directed  the  5th  French 
army  corps  to  attack  the  German  army  on  the  Somme, 
with  a  view  of  checking  the  pursuit.  The  British 
forces,  meanwhile,  retired  to  a  position  a  few  miles 
north  of  a  line  running  between  Soissons  and  Com- 
piegne. 

General  French  was  going  ever  backwards,  but,  true 
to  his  British  nature,  he  was  not  downcast.  He  knew 
—  and  every  one  else  knew  —  that  there  would  come  a 
time  when  this  retreat  would  be  turned  into  an  advance, 
so  he  hummed  a  tune  daily  and  hourly  just  to  keep 
his  spirits  up.  Of  this  particular  time  of  action  he 
says  in  his  report: 

"  The  right  flank  of  the  German  army  was  now 
reaching  a  point  which  appeared  seriously  to  endanger 
my  line  of  communications  with  Havre.  I  had  already 
evacuated  Amiens,  into  which  place  a  German  reserve 
division   was   reported   to  have  moved.     Orders   were 


62  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

given  to  change  the  base  to  St.  Xazaire,  and  establish 
an  advance  base  at  Le  Mans.  In  spite  of  a  severe  de- 
feat inflicted  upon  the  Prussian  Guard  10th,  and  the 
Guard  Reserve  Corps  of  the  German  army,  by  the  1st 
and  3d  French  Corps  on  the  right  of  the  5th  Army,  it 
was  not  part  of  General  Joffre's  plan  to  pursue  this 
advantage,  and  a  general  retirement  on  to  the  line  of 
the  Marne  was  ordered,  to  which  the  French  forces  in 
the  east  theater  were  directed  to  conform." 

So,  back  went  the  English  —  fighting  all  the  way  — 
giving  the  Germans  all  that  they  had  bargained  for, 
and  drawing  nearer  to  the  French  line  along  the  river 
Marne.  From  Sunday,  August  23d,  up  to  September 
27th,  from  Mons  back  as  far  as  the  river  Seine,  and 
from  the  Seine  to  the  Aisne,  the  army  under  the  com- 
mand of  "  Silent "  French,  was  ceaselessly  engaged, 
without  a  single  day's  halt  or  rest  of  any  kind. 

Many  documents  were  captured  upon  the  German 
prisoners,  and  that  they  had  changed  their  opinion  of 
the  English  army  was  very  evident.  One  of  the  letters 
found  upon  a  dead  German  ran  as  follows : 

"  We  had  great  difficulties  with  the  British  troops. 
They  have  a  queer  way  of  causing  losses  to  the  enemy. 
They  make  good  trenches  in  which  they  wait  patiently. 
They  carefully  measure  the  ranges  of  their  rifle-fire, 
and  they  then  open  a  truly  hellish  fire  on  the  unsus- 
pecting cavalry.  This  was  the  reason  why  we  had  such 
heavy  losses.  According  to  our  officers  the  British 
striking  forces  are  exhausted.  The  British  people 
never  wanted  war.  But  in  spite  of  this  they  can  cer- 
tainly fight.     One  of  our  companies  has  lost  one  hun- 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  63 

dred  and  thirty  men  out  of  two  hundred  and  forty." 
The  German  officers  were  apparently  much  impressed 
with  the  use  the  British  soldiers  made  of  cover.  "  They 
creep  up,  but  you  never  see  them/'  said  one  captured 
officer ;  while  another  one  remarked :  "  They  are  ter- 
rible fighters  and  never  give  in  until  they  are  beaten  to 
death.  Nothing  seems  to  scare  them."  Still  another 
said:  "  The  English,  in  spite  of  their  lack  of  training, 
are  grim  and  desperate  fighters.  What  the  officers  have 
said  of  them  is  all  untrue,  and  even  the  Prussian  Guard 
had  difficulty  in  handling  the  fierce  attacks  which  were 
launched  against  us." 

In  an  official  dispatch,  published  during  the  last  week 
of  October,  the  Commander  of  the  British  army  told 
the  War  Office  of  the  British  army's  work  in  the  fierce 
fighting  afield,  up  to  the  8th  of  that  month  when  the 
English  began  to  envelop  the  right  flank  of  the  German 
army,  and  the  retreat  was  turned  into  an  advance.  So 
well  was  this  written  that  the  New  York  'World  called 
the  General  a  great  reporter,  and  so  thoroughly  was  the 
fighting  described  that  it  will  always  remain  as  a  truth- 
ful picture  of  events  upon  this  momentous  occasion  in 
the  history  of  the  world.  "  JSTo  one  can  read  his  re- 
ports," said  a  Chicago  paper,  "  without  being  struck 
with  his  weighty  lucidity,  his  calm  mastery  of  the 
important  facts,  the  total  absence  of  any  attempt  at 
'  effect,'  and  the  remarkable  suggestive  bits  of  perti- 
nent description." 

The  British  army  —  after  the  fighting  at  the  Aisne 
—  began  to  be  the  aggressor,  but  as  the  efi^ective  leader 
we  must  now  leave  our  great  cavalr;)Tiian,  for  after  the 


64  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

5th  of  December,  1915,  he  resigned  his  position,  being 
made  Viscount  and  Commander  of  the  troops  of  the 
United  Kingdom.  He  was  relieved  by  Sir  Douglas 
Haig,  the  Aide-de-Camp  who  had  fallen  into  the  Modder 
Eiver  with  him  many  years  before,  and  who  had  so 
joyously  swum  ashore. 

That  the  General  was  popular  with  his  men  is 
well  exemplified  by  the  following  remarks  from  a  letter 
at  the  front: 

"  There  is  no  side  about  our  leader.  When  General 
French  passes  along  he  is  just  as  ready  to  smile  on 
the  ordinary  Tommy  as  on  the  highest  officer.  He 
takes  a  keen  interest  in  our  life  in  the  trenches,  and 
he's  dead  "  nuts  "  on  the  officers  who  don't  take  enough 
interest  in  their  men.  He  never  asks  the  impossible 
from  us,  and  he  always  acts  as  though  he  could  rely  on 
us  to  get  out  of  a  tight  corner.  He  knows  we're  doing 
the  best  for  him  and  the  country  in  this  war,  and  he 
gives  us  credit  for  it.  He's  not  one  of  your  showmen, 
but  a  hard  fighter  from  head  to  toe,  and  he  expects 
every  man  under  him  to  be  the  same.  He  stops  when 
he  has  the  time  just  to  have  a  chat  with  us  for  the 
sake  of  finding  out  what  we  think  of  it  all  and  whether 
we  are  being  properly  looked  after." 

Another  soldier  said :  "  The  whole  army  has  abso- 
lute confidence  in  General  French.  He  is  such  a  splen- 
didly cool  leader.  Nothing  flurries  him,  and  he  treats 
the  troops  like  men.  When  he  passes  along  the  lines 
he  doesn't  come  looking  sulky  or  stern,  but  he  will  talk 
aa  pleasantly  to  the  ordinary  soldier  as  to  the  highest 


SIR  JOHN  FRENCH  65 

officer.     Yes,  the  army  in  France  will  follow  General 
French  anywhere." 

Shortly  after  French  had  returned  to  England,  an 
elderly  gentleman,  with  a  white  mustache,  was  waiting 
to  cross  Whitehall,  when  a  patrol  of  Boy  Scouts  halted 
quite  close  to  him.  The  gentleman  smiled  upon  the 
lads,  but  their  Scout  Patrol  Leader,  taking  the  smile  of 
approval  for  a  sneer,  promptly  turned  upon  him  a  fight- 
ing face. 

"  It's  all  very  well  for  you  to  grin,"  he  said.  "  We're 
doing  our  best  for  our  country  anyway.  What  have 
YOU  done,  old  frosty  whiskers  ?  " 

Just  at  this  moment,  a  policeman  happened  to  pass 
by,  and  stopping,  he  whispered  something  to  the  Scout 
Leader,  who  immediately  stammered  out :  "  Oh,  I  beg 
your  pardon,  sir,  I  thought  —     I  thought —  " 

"  That's  all  right,  boy,"  said  the  old  gentleanan, 
laughing.  "  Good-by,  lads,  and  be  sure  to  be  clean 
boys." 

That  good-natured  gentleman  happened  to  be:  Sir 
John  Denton  Pinkstone  French,  K.C.M.G.,  G.C.B., 
K.C.B.,  G.C.V.O.,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  British  Expeditionary  Force  to  France. 


AT  BLOEMFOXTEIN 

'Twas  a  dusty  day  upon  the  veldt,  and  the  sun  was 
shining  strong, 

And  the  axle-joints  were  screeching,  like  a  rusty,  tin- 
lined  gong. 

We  were  swinging  by,  quite  carelessly,  with  our  canteens 
full  of  beer. 

When  a  blooming  gun  went  "  poom,  poom,  poom  "  and 
we  heard  a  distant  cheer. 

And  we  kind  of  thought  it  might  be  due  to, 

French,  French,  French, 
For  you  know  that  we  are  always  true  to, 

French,  French,  French. 
He's  our  grizzled,  sun-burned   General,   who  is  never 

known  to  talk. 
He  can  outride  twenty  squadrons  and  can  make  the 
Burghers  "  walk." 

So,  we  chirped  to  our  cayuses,  and  we  pricked  them 

with  the  spur. 
And  we  called  them,  worn-out  gooses,  and  we  made  the 

whip-thongs  whirr, 
We  broke  into  a  canter,  and  we  rollicked  fair  and  free. 
And  the  way  that  we  did  hustle  would  make  a  "  Yank  " 

say,  "  Gee." 

And  old  Kruger  heard  us  coming  up,  with 
French,  French,  French. 
66 


AT  BLOEMFONTEIN  67 

And,  turning  round  he  cried  out :     "  Dig  a 

Trench,  trench,  trench," 
For  the  Cavalry  is  coming,  I  can  hear  their  Sergeants 

rave, 
And  they  say  that  they  will  plant  me,  in  a  nice,  deep 

ten  foot  grave." 

We  neared  the  town  of  Bloemfontein,  'twas  sure  a  pretty 
place, 

It  was  fringed  about  with  roses  —  with  a  sort  of  home- 
like grace, 

It  had  squatty  white-washed  houses  and  we  thought  it 
must  be  fine, 

When  out  spat  a  growling  Gatling  and  its  pills  began 
to  whine. 

But  our  gunners  gave  our  o\ni  machines  a 

Wrench,  wrench,  wrench. 
And,  wheeling  them,  they  turned  the  crank  with 

Crench,  cronch,  crench. 
And   our    sullen,    leaden   missiles    were   soon   hurling 

through  the  air, 
Gad !     They  made  the  Colonel  grumble  as  his  mules  be- 
gan to  stare. 

But  the  Boers  were  bent  on  fighting,  and  they  raked  our 

column  hard. 
They  made  the  kopjes  grumble,  and  our  limbers  soon 

were  scarred, 
They  sniped  from  door  and  window,  they  worked  out 

to  our  flank. 


AT  BLOEMFON'TEIN 

'Twas  a  dusty  day  upon  the  veldt,  and  the  sun  was 
shining  strong, 

And  the  axle- joints  were  screeching,  like  a  rusty,  tin- 
lined  gong. 

We  were  swinging  by,  quite  carelessly,  with  our  canteens 
full  of  beer, 

When  a  blooming  gun  went  "  poom,  poom,  poom  "  and 
we  heard  a  distant  cheer. 

And  we  kind  of  thought  it  might  be  due  to, 

French,  French,  French, 
For  you  know  that  we  are  always  tnie  to, 

French,  French,  French. 
He's  our  grizzled,  sun-burned  General,   who  is  never 

known  to  talk. 
He  can  outride  twenty  squadrons  and  can  make  the 
Burghers  "  walk." 

So,  we  chirped  to  our  cayuses,  and  we  pricked  them 

with  the  spur. 
And  we  called  them,  worn-out  gooses,  and  we  made  the 

whip-thongs  whirr. 
We  broke  into  a  canter,  and  we  rollicked  fair  and  free, 
And  the  way  that  we  did  hustle  would  make  a  "  Yank  " 

say,  "  Gee." 

And  old  Kruger  heard  us  coming  up,  with 
French,  French,  French. 
66 


AT  BLOEMFONTEIN  67 

And,  turning  round  lie  cried  ont:     "  Dig  a 

Trench,  trench,  trench," 
For  the  Cavalry  is  coming,  I  can  hear  their  Sergeants 

rave, 
And  they  say  that  they  will  plant  me,  in  a  nice,  deep 

ten  foot  grave." 

We  neared  the  town  of  Bloemfontein,  'twas  sure  a  pretty 
place, 

It  was  fringed  about  with  roses  —  with  a  sort  of  home- 
like grace, 

It  had  squatty  white-washed  houses  and  we  thought  it 
must  be  fine, 

When  out  spat  a  growling  Gatling  and  its  pills  began 
to  whine. 

But  our  gunners  gave  our  own  machines  a 

Wrench,  wrench,  wrench, 
And,  wheeling  them,  they  turned  the  crank  with 

Crench,  crench,  crench. 
And   our    sullen,    leaden    missiles    were   soon   hurling 

through  the  air, 
Gad !     They  made  the  Colonel  grumble  as  his  mules  be- 
gan to  stare. 

But  the  Boers  were  bent  on  fighting,  and  they  raked  our 

column  hard. 
They  made  the  kopjes  grumble,  and  our  limbers  soon 

were  scarred. 
They  sniped  from  door  and  window,  they  worked  out 

to  our  flank, 


68  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

And  their  barking,  larking  Number  Nines  went  "  spank, 
spank,  spank." 

But  some  one  in  the  rear  cried :     "  Boys,  don't 

Flinch,  flinch,  flinch. 
Just  remember  lads  you're  fighting  here,  with 

French,  French,   French. 
No  matter  how  they  grill  you,  no  matter  how  you  fare, 
The  grim  old  boy  is  watching  you,  so  what,  boys,  do  you 
care? 

So,  we  wheeled  out  into  squadrons,  it  was  a  sight  to  see. 
And  we  charged  into  that  hornet's  nest,  just  like  a 

buzzing  bee, 
We  scattered  those  brave  Burghers,  like  scud  before  a 

gale. 
But,   though  they  ran,   few  could  escape  our  deadly 

leaden  hail. 

And  as  we  raced  and  chased,  our  hoofs  went 

Clench,  clench,  clench. 
And  as  we  stabbed  and  struck,  our  foes  yelled: 

"  French,  French,  French," 
For  they  knew  who  now  was  fighting,  and  they  didn't 

care  to  stand, 
Before  the  man  from  Ireland,   with  that   smile  both 
broad  and  bland. 


KING  ALBERT  OF  BELGIUM 

THE  RULER  WHO  ''  CAME  BACK  " 


KING  ALBERT  OF  BELGIUM 
THE  RULER  WHO  "  CAME  BACK  " 

THERE  was  a  pugilist  once  in  the  United  States 
who  retired  from  the  ring  because  he  thought  that 
he  was  too  old  for  fighting  and  that  his  muscles 
had  outlived  their  usefulness.  His  friends  succeeded  in 
getting  him  to  fight  just  one  more  battle ;  this  time  with 
a  lanky  negro.  They  thought  that  he  could  "  come 
back,"  but  they  found,  and  he  found  that  he  could  not  do 
so.  But  there  was  a  King  of  a  little  country  in  Europe 
who  was  driven  from  it,  but  who  said  that  he  would 
''  come  back  "  and  rule  it  again.  He  succeeded  in  doing 
so.     He  "  came  back  "  with  a  vengeance. 

When  the  great  war  broke  out,  Belgium  was  ruled  by 
a  young  man  who  was  the  nephew  of  King  Leopold  of 
Belgium,  a  keen,  crafty  statesman,  who  was  more  in 
love  with  making  money  than  in  making  his  subjects  in 
far-away  Africa  happy.  This  young  King  was  brave 
and  he  was  a  fighter,  so,  when  the  vast  German  army 
crossed  the  frontier  of  his  country  and  offered  him 
peace  and  non-molestation  if  he  would  let  it  through,  he 
replied  that  there  could  be  no  peace  and  that  he  would 
defend  his  Kingdom  to  the  last  man  and  the  last  dollar. 
For  some  years  the  King  of  Belgium  had  suspected 
that  the  Germans  would  cross  through  his  country  when 
they  attacked  France,  so  he  had  strongly  fortified  the 

71 


72  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

town  of  Liege  —  directly  on  the  border  between  Ger- 
many and  Belgium.  A  ring  of  forts  surrounded  the 
ancient  city  —  forts  which  were  thought  to  be  prac- 
tically impregnable  —  and  a  force  of  about  twenty-two 
thousand  five  hundred  was  there  to  defend  the  fortress 
and  the  beautiful  town.  Against  these  forts  and  men 
one  August  evening  in  1914  advanced  a  vast  German 
army  under  General  Von  Emmich,  consisting  of  208,000 
soldiers  with  siege  guns  and  light  and  heavy  artillery. 
The  Kaiser  had  ordered  his  general  to  take  the  place 
at  any  sacrifice. 

As  the  sun  set  peacefully  on  the  evening  of  August 
3d,  the  forts  were  no  more  conspicuous  than  usual 
amidst  the  picturesque  surroundings  of  city  and  wooded 
dells.  There  was  little  in  the  landscape  to  suggest  a 
ring  of  crouching  soldiers,  ready  to  spring  at  the  word 
of  command.  The  peaceful  folk  of  the  town  listened 
to  the  music  of  the  great  St.  Barthelemy  chimes,  little 
thinking  that  these  soft-toned  minstrels  next  day  would 
have  their  throats  muffled  by  the  roar  of  thousands  of 
growling  cannon.  Indeed,  upon  that  close,  hot  evening, 
the  fields  and  woods  which  surrounded  Liege  seemed  to 
contain  nothing  more  dangerous  than  fluttering  mag- 
pies and  twittering  swallows,  which  swung  through  the 
air  in  graceful  curves.  Xo  serious  shadow  of  coming 
evil  fell  across  the  quaint  hills  which  echoed  with  the 
lowing  of  the  cows  and  tinkling  of  their  bells. 

The  Kaiser  —  sitting  back  in  pompous  pride  in 
Berlin  —  had  said,  with  a  grandiloquent  wave  of  his 
hand :  "  I  can  sweep  through  Belgium  as  easily  as  I 
can  wave  my  fingers  aloft."     So,  when  he  decided  to 


KING  ALBERT  OF  BELGIUM       73 

strike  at  France  through  little  Belgium,  he  expected 
his  men  to  carry  all  before  them  by  sledge-hammer 
blows.  In  mass  formation  his  soldiers  were  supposed 
to  advance,  while  those  at  home  said,  "  What  care  wo 
for  the  cost,  we  wish  results !  "  And  those  abroad  an- 
swered with  the  old  adage :  "  Whom  God  decides  to 
ruin  he  first  makes  mad." 

The  Germans  were  swelled  with  pride.  The  Kaiser 
cared  nothing  for  a  paper  which  had  been  signed  by 
representatives  of  his  country,  with  representatives  of 
both  France  and  England,  guaranteeing  the  neutrality 
of  Belgium;  he  would  conquer  first  and  talk  about 
treaties  afterwards.  "  It  is  my  Imperial  and  Eoyal 
intention,"  said  he,  on  the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Liege, 
"  to  give  consideration  to  the  wishes  of  God  in  regard 
to  Belgium,  when  I  shall  have  executed  my  Imperial 
and  Royal  will  in  regard  to  France  and  the  contemptible 
English," 

The  sun  w^ent  down  in  a  blaze  of  reddening  glory, 
that  evening  of  August  3d,  and  next  morning  a  deep 
gim  boomed  out  a  warning  note.  Immediately  a  hun- 
dred —  nay,  a  thousand  — gims  answered,  and,  as  gray- 
clad  columns  of  troops  leaped  from  their  hiding-places 
for  the  assault  upon  Liege,  the  huge  guns  in  the  sup- 
posedly impregnable  fortresses  boomed  their  growling 
reply. 

Liege  was  surrounded  by  twelve  isolated  forts  which 
had  been  laid  out  by  the  celebrated  Brialmont.  They 
were  neither  connected  by  field  works  nor  had  they 
been  kept  up  to  date,  as  had  the  forts  at  Verdun  and 
Belfort.     Belgium  mobilization  had  been   ordered   on 


74  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

August  1st,  and  had  been  completed  August  6th.  Some- 
thing more  than  one  hundred  thousand  men  had  been 
concentrated  behind  the  Gests  River.  In  command  was 
Albert,  the  King,  with  headquarters  established  at  Lou- 
vain. 

The  3d  Division  of  the  Belgian  army  and  two 
brigades  of  the  4th  Division  occupied  the  ground  be- 
tween the  forts.  As  the  hordes  of  Germans  came  on, 
the  patriots  met  them  with  a  death-dealing  fire  which 
piled  up  the  dead  and  dying  in  heaps.  Still,  shoulder 
to  shoulder  and  rank  on  rank,  they  came  on  in  mass 
formation,  while  the  artillery  belched  a  hail  of  shot 
and  shell  upon  the  sunken  forts  of  Belgium's  frontier 
city. 

"  As  line  after  line  of  the  German  infantry  advanced 
we  simply  mowed  them  down,"  says  a  Belgian  officer. 
"  It  was  terribly  easy,  and  I  turned  to  a  brother  officer 
of  mine  more  than  once  and  said :  '  Voila  !  They  are 
coming  on  again  in  a  dense,  close  formation !  They 
must  be  mad !  '  They  made  no  attempt  at  deploying, 
but  came  on,  line  after  line,  almost  shoulder  to  shoulder, 
until,  as  we  shot  them  down,  the  fallen  were  heaped 
one  over  the  other,  in  an  awful  barricade  of  dead  and 
wounded  men  that  threatened  to  mask  our  guns.  I 
thought  of  Napoleon's  saying,  '  It  is  magnificent  but  it 
is  not  war !  '  ?^o,  it  was  slaughter  —  just  slaughter. 
Of  course  we  had  our  own  losses,  but  this  was  slight 
compared  with  the  carnage  inflicted  upon  oiTr  enemies." 

"  Curse  these  stupid  Belgians !  "  said  the  German 
leader.  "  Curse  them  for  holding  us  back !  Bring  up 
more  of  our  men !  " 


KING    ALBERT 


KING  ALBERT  OF  BELGIUM      75 

The  gray-clad  German  horde  swept  down  upon  the 
thin,  blue  line  at  Liege.  They  flanked  the  stout-hearted 
patriots  and  nearly  surrounded  them  before  they  re- 
treated. For  —  seeing  that  all  was  lost  save  honor  — 
the  followers  of  the  King,  who  dared  to  fight  the  mailed 
might  of  Germany,  at  length  fell  back  to  the  one  hun- 
dred thousand  Belgian  troops  in  the  rear.  The  forts 
were  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  fire,  and,  bringing  up  huge 
siege  guns,  the  advancing  Germans  threw  tons  of  leaden 
hail  into  those  iron  cupolas,  supposed  to  be  impregnable 
against  assault.  By  the  evening  of  August  7th,  or 
two  days  after  the  attack  had  been  commenced,  the 
Germans  had  taken  full  possession  of  the  town,  but  the 
forts  still  held. 

On  August  10th  Liege  was  practically  in  German 
hands,  but  two  of  the  iron  casements  were  spitting  a 
return  fire.  On  August  16th  the  last  fort  fell,  but  the 
word  of  the  stubborn  defense  had  been  heralded  around 
the  world  where  every  one  cheered  the  heroic  defenders 
of  Belgium's  soil.  "  Hurrah,  for  little  Belgium !  "  was 
heard  on   every   side.     "  Hurrah !     Hurrah !  " 

The  King  of  the  Belgians  was  with  his  troops  lying 
between  Diest  and  Xamur.  Eagerly  he  waited  for  news 
of  Liege,  and  sorrowfully  he  heard  of  the  awful  butchery 
of  his  heroic  men.  Then,  facing  the  onrushing  legions 
with  grim  determination,  he  decided  to  make  the  Kaiser 
pay  dearly  for  this  violation  of  his  Kingdom.  On 
August  12th  there  was  sharp  skinnishing  at  Haelen; 
on  August  13th  the  last  masses  of  German  infantry 
began  to  envelop  the  thin  line  of  Belgians  on  either 
flank,  so,  on  August  18th  the  Belgian  leader  ordered  a 


76  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

retreat  to  Antwerp.  He  could  not  fight  a  foe  that  out- 
numbered him  six  to  one. 

The  Germans  were  exultant,  for  everything  was  go- 
ing as  they  wished,  and,  advancing  upon  Namur,  the 
forts  which  defended  this  fortress  were  soon  under  the 
terrific  pounding  of  their  cannon.  In  vain  the  gallant 
King  pleaded  with  his  troops  to  hold  on,  nothing  could 
withstand  the  iron  hail  which  the  big  guns  threw  into 
the  beautiful  Belgian  city.  Brussels,  the  capital,  had 
been  captured  with  no  resistance,  and  now  !Namur,  also, 
had  to  succumb.  On  August  the  23d  twelve  thousand 
of  the  King's  troops  retreated  towards  the  seacoast, 
while  the  Kaiser's  flag  flew  in  the  streets  of  the  once 
proud  city.  Belgium,  weak  and  bleeding,  had  been 
crushed  beneath  the  iron  heel  of  the  conqueror. 

En  Avcmt! 

This  cry  was  waking  the  quiet  villages  in  France 
as  the  French  legions  gathered  for  the  impending  at- 
tack, but  there  was  no  similar  cry  in  Belgium,  for 
those  who  wished  to  withstand  the  crushing  avalanche 
were  simply  powerless.  Great  superiority  of  numbers 
made  it  simply  impossible  to  fight  upon  equal  terms,  so, 
wistfully  and  eagerly,  the  King  looked  backward  to  the 
seacoast,  where  the  English  were  disembarking  troops 
for  his  assistance,  and  just  as  eagerly  he  looked  south- 
ward where  the  French  also  were  swarming  towards 
the  land  which  once  had  been  the  proud  possession  of 
the  nephew  of  Leopold  the  avaricious. 

The  Germans  swept  on  to  the  Mame,  where,  as 
you  know,  the  French  stopped  their  advance.  The 
Belgians,  meanwhile,  dropped  back  doggedly  to  the  sea- 


KING  ALBERT  OF  BELGIUM      77 

coast,  fighting  all  the  way  and  taking  as  hesivy  a  toll 
of  the  invaders  as  they  could  with  them;  in  fact,  right 
among  them  was  their  spunky  King,  who,  with  a  stub- 
bornness and  pride  that  was  quite  British,  refused  ab- 
solutely to  stop  fighting.  He  was  like  a  game  rooster 
in  this  land  of  turmoil  which  has  been  called  the  cock- 
pit of  Europe,  and  he  fought  like  one. 

After  the  Germans  had  retreated  from  the  Marne 
to  the  Aisne,  they  decided  to  take  Antwerp,  a  city  of 
such  strategic  importance  that  Napoleon  once  said: 
"  Antwerp  is  a  pistol  aimed  at  England's  heart."  Sur- 
rounded by  a  ring  of  forts  at  a  distance  of  about  twelve 
miles  from  the  city,  the  doomed  stronghold  could  offer 
a  serious  obstacle  to  the  German  advance.  The  Bel- 
gian army,  however,  had  been  already  so  badly  cut 
to  pieces  that  only  a  scant  twenty  thousand  men  gar- 
risoned the  town  and  its  defenses.  In  spite  of  the 
assistance  of  eight  thousand  British  marines  and  blue- 
jackets, sent  to  their  relief  by  Winston  Churchill,  Eirst 
Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  Antwerp  fell,  and  four  hundred 
thousand  men,  women,  and  children  joined  in  a  mad 
rush  to  escape  from  the  terrible  Huns,  who,  at  the 
towns  of  Louvain,  Vise,  and  Termonde,  had  perpetrated 
such  atrocities  upon  the  simple  inhabitants  that  all 
feared  the  ruthless  invader.  Panic-stricken  they 
rushed  to  Ghent,  to  Flushing,  and  into  Holland.  The 
Belgian  troops  were  seized  by  a  panic  and  fled ;  so  the 
victorious  German  army  marched  unopposed  into  the 
once  rich  and  populous  city. 

The  King  and  his  men  had  good  reason  to  be  dis- 
heartened.    Yet  all  rallied  on  the  banks  of  the  sluggish 


78  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

Yser,  and,  amidst  a  network  of  canals,  determined  to 
fight  desperately  for  the  retention  of  the  last  bit  of 
their  native  soil  left  to  them.  The  Belgian  army,  about 
fifty  thonsand  strong,  was  now  on  the  left  of  the  line 
opposed  to  the  Germans,  the  British  being  next  and  the 
French  farthest  south.  They  fought  like  demons,  in 
marshes,  sand-dunes,  and  canals.  For  weeks  the  fight- 
ing waged  here  without  much  advantage  to  either  side, 
and  thus  for  two  years  Germans  and  Belgians  struggled 
in  about  the  same  positions,  first  one  side  gaining  a 
slight  advantage,  and  then  the  other. 

After  months  of  serious  raiding  along  the  Yser  and 
about  Ypres,  the  Belgian  troops  were  intrenched  in 
an  apparently  unmovable  position  upon  the  last  strip 
of  Belgian  soil.  The  Kaiser's  wish  to  annex  Belgium 
was,  for  the  time  being,  lost.  Calais  was  still  in  the 
hands  of  the  Allies ;  Dunkirk  and  Boulogne  were  also 
theirs.  Yet  all  Belgium,  save  thirty-five  square  miles 
in  its  extreme  corner,  was  held  by  the  Kaiser's  troops. 
Antwerp,  Brussels,  and  Ghent  were  ruled  by  Prussian 
officers  and  paid  tribute  to  the  German  war  chest. 

Still,  the  King  never  lost  hope  or  his  courage.  When 
formal  request  had  been  made  of  him  for  permission 
to  move  the  German  troops  through  his  territory,  with 
guarantees  of  protection  of  property  and  life,  and  with- 
drawal of  military  occupation,  after  the  war,  he  had 
replied : 

"  Belgium  is  a  nation,  not  a  highway !  " 

The  country  was  small  and  weak,  yet  it  was  united 
behind  him. 

He  had  told  of  these  German  propositions   to  his 


KING  ALBERT  OF  BELGIUM       79 

Parliament,  and  had  asked  his  people,  "  Are  you  deter- 
mined at  any  cost  to  maintain  the  sound  heritage  of 
our  ancestors  ? " 

To  this  the  entire  chamber  had  burst  into  a  roar, 
and  cries  of  "  Yes !  Yes !  "  arose.  Even  from  the  side 
where  the  socialists  sat  came  the  words :  "At  any  cost ; 
by  death  if  need  be !  " 

The  King  stuck  to  his  men  tlirough  the  long  weary 
days  of  winter,  through  rain,  through  snow,  and  through 
sleet.  Grim,  silent,  taciturn,  determined,  he  kept  up 
the  morale  of  his  soldiers  by  constantly  appearing  among 
them  in  order  to  cheer  them  on.  And  his  wife,  too, 
stood  by  him  through  thick  and  thin,  hoping  against 
hope,  that  at  last  the  Allies  would  be  sufficiently  strong 
to  push  back  the  awful  invader,  and  to  at  length  rescue 
the  Kingdom  of  Belgium.     That  time  was  to  come. 

Gradually,  clearly,  plainly,  it  was  evident  that  the 
German  lines  on  the  Western  front  were  weakening. 
America's  entrance  into  the  war  had  made  the  Allied 
troops  superior  in  numbers  to  the  Germans,  and  in 
addition,  the  morale  of  the  French,  English,  and  Bel- 
gians had  been  greatly  strengthened  by  the  additions 
from  the  United  States.  The  Germans  began  to  with- 
draw from  Ostend  on  the  coast,  their  submarine  base, 
from  Zeebrugge  and  from  Dixmude.  Slowly  but  surely 
the  English  and  the  Belgians  pressed  after  the  retreat- 
ing Hun,  and  a  wonderful  light  of  triumph  shone  in 
the  eyes  of  the  King  of  the  Belgians,  for  he  realized 
that,  not  like  the  pugilist  who  had  endeavored  to  "  come 
back "  and  could  not  do  so,  he  was  really  going  to 
accomplish  that  in  which  he  had  failed. 


80  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

All  observers  speak  of  the  unfailing  courtesy,  con- 
sideration, courage,  and  forbearance  of  the  Belgian 
King.  He  was  the  loneliest  man  in  all  of  Belgium,  it 
has  been  said,  but  a  soldier-comrade  of  the  people,  and 
always  a  man.  Straight  and  fair,  with  fine  blue  eyes 
that  look  directly  at  you  when  speaking,  the  King  im- 
presses everyone  with  his  reticence  and  sadness.  His 
voice  is  low.  He  is  so  shy  that  the  color  goes  and  comes 
swiftly  in  his  face  as  he  talks,  and  he  is  as  careful  of 
his  people  as  he  is  of  his  own  children. 

A  writer  says  of  him: 

"  On  a  misty  spring  day  sixty  men  in  their  lines 
stood  facing  the  sea  in  front  of  a  plain  brick  villa. 
The  ofiices  were  dreary,  the  men  groomed  beyond  rec- 
ognition, with  rifles  shining  and  the  Yser  mud  scraped 
from  their  uniforms  and  boots.  They  waited  the  com- 
ing of  the  shy  gentleman  —  their  King.  Soon  he  came, 
in  dark  uniform,  gloves,  and  cap  with  several  bands  of 
gold  braid  adding  inches  to  it.  I  watched  him  pin  on 
each  man  a  decoration,  some  blue,  some  garnet,  and 
noticed  with  what  concern  and  gentleness  he  talked  to 
each  man,  asking  questions,  listening  courteously.  He 
is  to  his  people  what  he  is  to  his  children,  a  father  who 
cares  that  they  suffer.  Then,  on  the  lonely  beach  of 
the  last  strip  of  his  land,  he  paid  tribute  to  his  soldiers, 
individually,  as  man  to  man." 

Yet  this  King  lived  to  see  the  day  when  he  could 
leave  that  strip  of  land  behind  him  and  could  advance 
into  his  own  country.  As  the  Germans  slowly  retreated, 
he  and  the  Queen  re-entered  Bruges,  Louvain,  and  fi- 
nally Brussels,  where  they  were  met  with  tears  and  re- 


KING  ALBERT  OF  BELGIUM      81 

joicing  by  the  saddened  people  who  had  suffered  much 
under  the  iron  fist  of  the  military  machine.  The  crowd 
cheered  for  Albert,  their  Sovereign,  who,  mounted  upon 
a  prancing  horse,  rode  slowly  down  the  cobbled  streets 
of  his  capital.  How  his  heart  must  have  thumped 
with  joy,  for  he,  indeed,  was  the  saddened  ruler  who 
had  returned  to  his  own  again  —  he  had  really  "  come 
back,"  in  spite  of  obstacles  which  seemed  to  be  insur- 
mountable. 


THE  FOETS  AT  LIEGE 

A  long,  low  mist  hung  o'er  the  moor,  that  day  of 
Belgium's  doom, 

A  magpie  screamed  from  a  tasseled  top,  in  the  glint  of 
the  silvery  moon. 

The  whining  cry  of  a  screech-owl  spoke  from  the  dark- 
ness o'er  the  land, 

Which  lay  there  quietly  helpless  in  the  grip  of  the 
Kaiser's  hand. 

Day  dawned  —  a  deep-toned  gTowl  of  hate  came  forth 

from  a  hidden  gun. 
Day   dawned  —  an   ominous,    sudden   roar   sprang   up 

'neath  the  redd'ning  sun. 
Then  out  boomed  the  War-King's  challenge,   and   on 

come  his  million  men, 
Shoulder     to     shoulder  —  rank     on     rank  —  through 

thickets  and  fern-filled  glen. 

Ah  'twas  rolling  fire,  'twas  withering  lead,  that  fell  on 

the  sleeping  town; 
It  was  rumble  and  roar  from  the  mortar's  mouth,  and 

death  from  the  gatlings  brown. 
It  was  bursting  shell  and  crumbling  wood ;  'twas  shrieks 

and  wails  of  pain. 
As  the  gray-clad  legions  clambered  on,  stamped  with  the 

mark  of  Cain. 

The  gray-clad  legions  clambered  on,  but  they  met  a 

ring  of  fire, 

82 


THE  FORTiS  AT  LIEGE  83 

The  war-mad  Germans  stumbled  on,  but  they  winced 

at  a  nation's  ire, 
Again  and  again  they  charged  and  bled,  again  and  again 

they  cheered, 
But   the   Prussian   hosts   were   torn    and    rent,    as   the 

battle's  goal  was  neared. 

First  fell  one  fort  —  'twas  torn  to  bits,  and  only  the 

dead  were  there, 
Then  fell  the  earth-works,  what  could  men  do  in  the 

grip  of  this  Prussian  bear  ? 
The  big  guns  then  were  hurried  up ;  they  spat  out  their 

tons  of  steel, 
And  the  greatest  of  all  the  Belgian  forts  was  seen  to 

bend  and  reel. 

It  reeled  —  it  sagged  in  a  hell  of  smoke ;  but  it  stood 

till  all  were  dead 
Who'd  manned  the  frowning  casements  and  worked  at 

the  mortar's  head. 
With  the  cry  of  Attila,  the  Hun,  the  Kaiser's  men  swept 

on. 
But  a  chorus  of  hate  throughout  the  world,  arose  on  that 

Autumn  morn. 

Oh,    noble   forts,   you   held   out   well,   we    salute   your 

crumbling  walls. 
Oh,  noble  forts,  and  noble  troops,  to  you  the  War  God 

calls. 
To  you  the  Valkyries  hasten.     For  you  their  arms  are 

wide, 
For  you  stood  by  your  guns  like  heroes  of  old,  and  like 

a  wolf  in  his  lair  you  died. 


FERDINAND  FOCH 

COMMANDER-i:N^-CHIEr  OF  THE  ALLIES 


FERDINAND  FOCH 
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF  OF  THE  ALLIES 

NAPOLEON  THE  FIEST,  master  tactician  and 
fearless  gambler  with  fate,  once  made  a  very 
shrewd  remark.     It  was: 

"  In  warfare  men  are  nothing;  a  man  is  everything. 
It  was  not  the  Roman  army  that  conquered  Gaul,  but 
Caesar.  It  was  not  the  Carthaginians  that  made  armies 
of  the  Republic  tremble  at  the  very  gates  of  Rome,  but 
Hannibal ;  it  was  not  the  Macedonian  army  which 
marched  to  the  Indus,  but  Alexander;  it  was  not  the 
French  army  that  carried  war  to  the  Weser  and  the 
Inn,  but  Turenne;  it  was  not  the  Prussian  army  that 
defended  Prussia  during  seven  years  against  the  ten 
greatest  Powers  of  Europe,  but  Frederick  the  Great," 

This  maxim  was  seen  to  be  as  true  to-day  as  in 
Napoleon's  time,  when,  after  four  years  of  furious 
fighting,  great  losses,  and  serious  sacrifices,  the  Allies 
turned  to  Ferdinand  Foch  as  their  leader,  and  accepted 
the  French  General  as  their  Chief. 

Foch  was  born  at  Tarbes,  near  the  Pyrenees  Moun- 
tains on  October  2d,  1851.  Thus,  he  was  sixty-six 
and  a  half  years  of  age  when  he  came  to  be  selected 
as  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Allied  forces.  His 
father,  of  good  old  French  stock  and  a  very  modest 
fortune,    was   a   provincial   officer   whose   position   was 

87 


88  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

similar  to  that  of  a  Secretary  of  State  of  one  of  the 
many  United  States.  Tarbes  was  the  capital  of  the 
department  of  France  called  the  Department  of  the 
Upper  Pyrenees.  The  mother  of  the  great  soldier  was 
named  Sophie  Diipre,  and  she  was  born  at  Argeles, 
some  twenty  miles  south  of  Tarbes,  near  the  borderland 
of  Spain. 

Napoleon  the  First  was  accustomed  to  reward  those 
who  fought  and  worked  for  him,  and  had,  consequently, 
made  the  father  of  Ferdinand  Foch  a  chevalier  of  the 
Empire.  This  was  because  of  his  ardent  aid  in  the 
war  with  Spain,  or  Peninsular  War,  in  which  the 
French  were  eventually  well  trounced.  However,  the 
young  Ferdinand  Foch  had  a  great  passion  for  the 
Emperor,  even  from  his  earliest  years,  and  we  learn 
that,  when  a  small  boy,  he  would  frequently  get  his 
father  to  relate  to  him  the  story  of  the  career  of  the 
brilliant  Corsican,  sometimes  called  Napoleon  the 
Great. 

Tarbes  is  a  very  ancient  city  and  now  has  some 
thirty  thousand  inhabitants,  but  when  Ferdinand  Foch 
was  a  little  boy  it  had  less  than  fifteen  thousand  men 
and  women.  Under  the  Romans,  Tarbes  was  a  promi- 
nent city  of  Gaul,  yet  nothing  of  particular  importance 
happened  here  in  those  ancient  times,  and  not  until 
after  the  battle  of  Poitiers  in  732  —  when  the  Saracens 
fell  back  after  the  defeat  by  Charles  Martel  —  was 
there  any  disturbance  at,  or  near,  this  peaceful  town. 

At  this  particular  time,  a  valiant  and  venturesome 
priest  called  Massolin,  hastily  assembled  many  of  the 
men  who  lived  in  the  vicinity,  and,  with  their  assistance, 


FERDINAND  FOCH  89 

he  gave  the  retreating  Saracens  a  good  drubbing  —  the 
battle  lasting  for  full  three  days.  At  the  end  of  this 
time,  the  retreating  Saracens  disappeared  across  the 
Pyrenees  in  a  cloud  of  dust,  leaving  many  an  invader 
behind  to  enrich  the  soil  of  this  farmland,  which  is  now 
called  the  Heath  of  the  Moors. 

Forty  years  of  peace  now  rolled  past,  and  then  again 
the  clarion  notes  of  the  war-bugle  sounded  across  the 
green  fields,  as  Charlemagne  the  Great  rode  past  with 
his  twelve  faithful  Knights  on  their  way  to  Spain  to 
fight  the  Moors.  But  the  men  of  dark  complexions 
were  more  of  a  nut  to  crack  than  the  great  Charlemagne 
had  expected,  and,  after  numerous  skirmishes  and  bat- 
tles, the  German  invaders  were  defeated :  haggard,  war- 
worn, and  dispirited,  they  fled  across  the  Pyrenees, 
followed  by  the  exultant  Moors  with  derisive  shouts  of 
defiance. 

Over  the  mountains  they  went,  and  there  —  high 
up  amongst  the  clouds  —  almost  ten  thousand  feet  in 
the  air,  is  the  Breach  of  Roland,  named  after  a  wild 
young  French  knight  who,  unable  to  cross  because  of 
his  enemies,  cut  his  way  through  a  chasm  some  two 
hundred  feet  wide,  three  hundred  and  thirty  feet  deep, 
and  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet  long.  Across  this 
dashed  the  intrepid  warrior,  and,  spurring  his  horse, 
he  leaped  to  the  French  side  of  the  chasm,  leaving  the 
impress  of  the  iron-shod  foot  of  his  charger  in  a  rock. 
Here  it  can  be  seen  to-day  by  you  should  you  but  go 
there  and  be  in  sufficiently  good  training  to  make  the 
climb. 

On  the  field  of  the  Moors  at  Tarbes  is  a  monument 


90  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

to  valiant  Massolin,  and  near  the  pass  to  the  mountains 
is  a  bronze  image  of  Roland  the  Impetuous:  more 
famous  in  death  than  in  life,  and  an  ideal  of  valor  for 
the  chivalrous  youths  of  France.  With  these  two  monu- 
ments nearbv  grew  up  young  Foch,  and,  with  the  tra- 
ditions of  his  fighting  ancestors  dinned  into  his  ears 
bv  many  a  town  scribe,  do  you  wonder  that  he  breathed 
of  battles  when  even  a  small  boy,  and  that  he  was 
impregnated  with  the  ideals  of  chivalry. 

Young  Ferdinand  learned  early  to  ride  the  spirited 
horses  in  the  vicinity  and  is  now  an  ardent  and  in- 
trepid horseman.  He  had  one  sister  and  two  brothers, 
and  they  were  most  piously  reared.  At  the  college  of 
Tarbes  the  future  Marshal  began  his  training,  and  this 
was  in  a  venerable  building,  over  the  portal  of  which 
was  the  following  inscription  in  Latin: 

"  May  this  house  remain  standing  until  the  ant  has 
drunk  all  the  waves  of  the  sea  and  the  tortoise  has 
crawled  round  the  world." 

Here  the  young  French  lad  learned  to  read  and 
write,  and  here  he  became  conspicuous  for  his  earnest- 
ness and  diligence.  At  twelve  years  of  age,  his  pro- 
fessor of  mathematics  thought  so  highly  of  him  that 
he  remarked:  "  He  has  the  stuff  of  a  polytechnician," 
and  about  this  time  he  read  a  history  of  Xapoleon,  in 
Thiers'  "  History  of  the  Consulate  and  the  Empire." 
Fired  by  the  glowing  description  of  this  prominent 
Frenchman,  he  determined  to  himself  to  endeavor  to 
merit  the  praise  of  his  countrymen,  should  the  opportu- 
nity ever  present  itself. 

About  the  vear  1866  the  familv  of  the  General  moved 


FERDINAND  FOCH  91 

from  the  ancient  and  historic  Tarbes  to  Eodez  —  almost 
two  hundred  miles  northeast  of  the  pleasant  town  of  his 
birth.  Here  the  father  of  the  ^larshal  was  appointed 
pa^Tnaster  of  the  Treasury,  and  here  the  young  Ferdi- 
nand continued  his  studies,  and,  later,  when  they  emi- 
grated to  the  city  of  Lyons  he  entered  the  college  of  St. 
Etienne.  In  1S69  the  great  soldier  went  to  the  Jesuit 
College  of  Saint  Clement  at  Metz,  where  he  was  given 
the  grand  prize  for  scholarship  by  unanimous  vote  of 
his  fellow  students.  He  had  been  here  but  a  year  when 
the  Franco-Prussian  war  began,  and,  with  true  patriot- 
ism, the  youthful  Frenchman  enlisted  for  the  duration 
of  hostilities.  Joining  the  Fourth  Eegiment  of  In- 
fantry, he  was  sent  to  Chalon-sur-SaC.ne,  and,  after  the 
capitulation  of  Paris,  was  here  discharged,  in  January. 
1871.     He  had  not  distinguished  himself. 

True,  young  Ferdinand  had  not  distinguished  him- 
self, but  he  had  learned  one  great  lesson  and  this  was: 
LEARX  TO  BE  PREPARED !  GERMANY  WILL 
STRIKE  AGAIN !  He  could  not  do  anything  at  this 
time  to  save  France  from  humiliation,  but  he  deter- 
mined to  help  France  so  that  she  should  not  again  suffer 
such  distress. 

At  Nancy,  where  the  young  soldier  now  was  billeted, 
a  big,  fat  German  General  called  Manteufel  had  his 
Headquarters,  and  here  he  delighted  in  taunting  the 
conquered  French,  by  having  his  military  bands  play 
"  The  Retreat."  The  French  hung  their  heads  in 
shame,  but  young  Ferdinand  Foch  hung  his  head, 
listened  in  distress,  and  took  his  examinations  for  the 
School  of  War,  irrespective  of  what  these  bold  invaders 


92  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

and  conquerors  were  doing.  The  undiplomatic  Man- 
teufel  finally  went  away  jeering,  and  forty-two  years 
later,  a  new  commandant  came  to  ISTancy  to  there  take 
control  of  the  Twentieth  Army  Corps,  whose  position 
here  —  guarding  the  Eastern  frontier  —  was  consid- 
ered to  be  the  most  important  to  the  safety  of  the  nation. 

Now,  what  did  this  new  commandant  do  ? 

He  immediately  ordered  out  the  band  of  all  six  regi- 
ments quartered  in  the  town  and  said  to  the  band- 
masters : 

'^  Fill  the  towTi  with  the  strains  of  the  '  Marche  Lor- 
raine '  and  the  '  Sambre  et  ]\reuse  ' ;  we  want  to  drown 
out  the  unpleasant  memories  of  other  days." 

This  was  on  Saturday,  Augiist  23d,  1913,  and  Nancy 
will  never  forget  those  airs.  Soon  the  German  guns 
were  booming  on  the  Nancy  line,  and  the  French  were 
defending  that  town  again  against  assault:  this  time 
to  be  unsuccessful. 

The  commandant  who  had  ordered  these  bands  to 
play  was  no  other  than  Ferdinand  Foch.  He  was  get- 
ting even  with  ihe  Boche. 

Entering  the  School  Polytechnic,  Foch  there  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  diligence  and  aptitude  for  his 
tasks.  Here  were  many  young  men,  and  among  them 
one  Jacques  Joseph  Cesaire  Joffre  who  was  to  dis- 
tinguish himself  later  at  the  battle  of  the  Marne. 
Joffre  graduated  in  1872  and  went  to  the  School  of 
Applied  Artillery  at  Fontainebleau.  Foch  left  the 
Polytechnic  about  six  months  after  the  great  Joffre  had 
graduated,  and  also  went  to  Eontainebleau  for  the  same 
training    that    Joffre    was    taking.     Both    were    tre- 


FERDINAND  FOCH  93 

mendously  in  earnest  and  were  hard  workers.  Young 
Ferdinand  graduated  third  in  his  class  and,  departing 
immediately  for  Saumur,  there  learned  not  only  how 
to  direct  cavalry  operations,  but  also  how  to  handle 
men.  In  1878  he  went  to  the  Tenth  Regiment  of  Ar- 
tillery at  Rennes  as  Captain,  and  there  he  remained  for 
seven  years. 

The  career  of  the  great  General  from  now  on  was 
characteristically  methodical  and  according  to  rule. 
After  remaining  at  Rennes  for  a  full  tour  of  duty, 
he  was  moved  to  Montpellier  for  a  four  years'  stay. 
Raised  to  the  rank  of  a  Staff  Officer,  he  was  next  trans- 
ferred to  Paris,  in  February,  1891,  as  a  Major  on 
the  general  army  staff.  About  the  time  that  Marshal 
Joffre  went  to  the  Soudan,  in  order  to  build  a  railway 
in  the  Sahara  desert,  Foch  went  to  Vincennes  as  com- 
mander of  the  mounted  group  of  the  Thirteenth  Ar- 
tillery. On  the  31st  of  October.  1895,  he  was  made 
Associate  Professor  of  Military  History,  Strategy,  and 
Applied  Tactics  at  the  Superior  School  of  War.  He 
was  now  forty-five  years  of  age  and  was  rated  as  a  very 
competent  officer.  He  was  soon  to  make  a  wonderful 
reputation  as  a  great  teacher. 

At  the  School  the  future  Marshal  made  the  men  who 
sat  under  him  love  their  work  for  the  work's  sake  and 
not  for  the  rewards  which  they  hoped  to  obtain.  He 
fired  their  brains  with  a  love  and  ardor  for  the  military 
art  which  made  them  feel  that,  in  all  of  life  there  is 
nothing  more  worth  the  doing,  or  so  worth  while,  as 
the  knowledge  of  how  to  defend  one's  countiy  when  she 
needs  to  be  defended. 


94  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

A  French  officer  says  of  him: 

"  Many  hundreds  of  Officers  —  the  very  elite  of  the 
General  Staffs  of  the  army  —  followed  his  teaching 
and  were  imbued  with  his  lofty  spirit;  and,  as  they 
practically  all,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  occupied 
high  positions  of  command,  one  may  estimate  as  he 
can  the  profound  and  far-reaching  influence  of  this 
one  grand  spirit." 

In  times  of  peace  he  gave  his  students  an  enthusiasm 
for  preparedness,  when  the  cry,  on  all  sides,  was  for 
disarmament  and  return  to  more  peaceful  attitudes. 
At  the  beginning  of  his  celebrated  course  of  lectures 
on  tactics,  he  always  admonished  his  scholars  with  the 
words : 

"  You  will  be  called  on  later  to  be  the  brain  of  an 
army.     So  I  say  to  you  to-day:     Learn  to  think." 

In  his  opinion,  an  able  officer  is  one  who  can  take 
a  general  command  to  get  his  men  to  such  and  such  a 
place,  and  to  accomplish  such  and  such  a  thing,  and 
so  to  interpret  the  command  to  his  men  that  each  and 
every  one  of  them  will,  while  acting  in  strict  obedience 
to  the  orders,  use  the  largest  amount  of  personal  in- 
telligence in  accomplishing  that  which  he  has  been  told 
to  do. 

So,  with  word  and  pen.  the  mighty  Foch  labored 
with  his  students,  knowing  of  the  German  menace,  know- 
ing of  the  German  power,  and,  with  full  knowledge  of 
their  great  masses  of  troops  which  could  be  moved  by 
the  nod  of  the  Kaiser.  Zealously  he  labored  so  that 
when  Germany  should  make  her  next  assault  on  France 
his  own  country  might  be  equipped  with  hundreds  of 


FERDINAND  FOCH  95 

officers  who  would  know  of  Gemiany's  weak  points  of 
attack  and  would  be  prepared  to  turn  her  rashness  into 
defeat. 

When  the  war  broke  out  and  the  hordes  of  grav- 
clad  Germans  swarmed  across  the  Belgian  border  to 
crush  their  little  state  and  rush  upon  Paris,  the  bril- 
liant French  leader  was  at  Nancy,  in  command  of  the 
famous  20th  Army  Corps.  As  the  news  was  flashed 
that  the  Boche  was  at  length  advancing,  he  remarked: 
"  Well,  let  us  go  to  meet  them  as  we  have  so  often 
planned  to  do.     Use,  in  fact,  plan  number  forty-one." 

It  is  said  that,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Franco- 
Prussian  war,  in  1870,  the  great  Field  Marshal  von 
Moltke  —  Chief  of  the  German  Staff  —  remarked,  when 
he  learned  that  war  had  been  declared,  "  Use  plan 
number  seven,"  and  then  tucked  a  paper  away  in  a 
certain  pigeon-hole  on  his  desk.  In  other  words,  for 
years  the  German  staff  had  been  planning  numerous 
methods  of  entering  France  —  upon  the  declaration  of 
war  —  and  the  advance  of  the  French  toward  Sedan 
made  it  necessary  to  use  plan  number  seven. 

But  now  there  was  a  man  upon  the  French  staff 
who  was  as  keen,  as  intellectual,  as  mathematical  as 
General  von  Moltke.  He  had  worked  out  —  years  be- 
fore —  schemes  for  meeting  the  invasion  of  the  country 
by  the  Germans;  expecting  them  to  come  across  the 
French  frontier  and  not  through,  Belgium,  as  they 
themselves  had  planned.  But  the  Germans  considered 
their  treaty  obligations  to  Belgium  to  be  "■  but  a  scrap 
of  paper  "  —  and  thus  —  when  the  great  army  of  in- 
vasion  came  crashing  down   towards   Paris   from  the 


96  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

Belgian  border,  it  was  Foch  who  had  to  use,  not  plan 
number  twenty,  but  plan  number  fortv-one. 

When  little  five-foot-six-inch  Ferdinand  Foch  first 
came  into  touch  with  his  British  Allies,  a  great  crisis 
faced  their  lines,  for,  at  Arras,  the  line  held  by  the 
French  General  Petain  had  nearly  been  pierced  by 
the  Huns.  The  Belgians  held  a  part  of  the  front  and 
they  were  suffering  over  two  thousand  casualties  a 
day.  They  were  also  in  momemtary  peril  of  yielding 
the  defense  of  the  Yser.  At  Ypres  the  British  had  no 
reserves,  and  cooks  and  orderlies  were  holding  off  the 
swarming  mass  of  Germans,  thirsting  for  their  blood 
and  longing  to  get  to  the  coast-line.  It  was  a  moment 
of  gloom  and  despondency. 

At  this  juncture  Foch  came  up,  buoyant  and  cheerful. 
He  had  men  with  him  and  he  put  them  into  earthworks, 
for  it  was  impossible  to  dig  trenches  in  the  low,  wet 
ground.  He  planted  his  75's  behind  whatever  cover  he 
could  find,  and,  delivering  two  fierce  counter-attacks, 
the  Huns  decided  to  give  up  any  further  advance  in 
that  sector.     Foch  had  won  the  day. 

One  British  admirer  said  of  him,  "  The  little  man 
would  be  cheerful  and  hopeful  even  if  he  had  a  bullet 
through  his  middle,"  and,  when  he  said  this,  he  hit  upon 
the  true  note  of  Foch's  character.  Hopefulness  is  an 
article  of  the  General's  religion,  for,  "  depression  is  a 
confession  of  intellectual  weakness,"  he  has  often  re- 
marked. ''  Depression  has  lost  more  battles  than  any 
other  cause,"  he  has  also  said.  "  To  be  gloomy  is  to 
admit  that  matter  has  conquered  spirit."  The  general, 
in  fact,  lives  and  flourishes  by  virtue  of  mental  pluck. 


FERDINAND  FOCH  97 

"  The  soldier  can  snatch  victory  from  the  arms  of 
defeat,"  he  has  often  remarked,  "  just  as  the  coming 
of  much  needed  reinforcements  will  do  the  same."  "  In- 
tellectual energj^  can  produce  absolute  forgetfulness  of 
bodily  ailments  until  the  body  is  in  actual  danger  of 
collapse,"  is  likewise  one  of  his  favorite  maxims.  In 
other  words,  keep  on  moving,  never  worry  about  your 
aches  or  your  pains,  but  keep  on  moving  and  you  will 
have  your  reward.  "  Watch  for  depression  in  the 
enemy,"  is  one  of  his  maxims.  "  Kever  watch  for 
depression  in  yourself." 

Foch  is  thoroughly  of  a  Gallic  turn  of  mind :  that  is, 
he  is  vivacious  and  imaginative.  He  is  a  pure  type 
of  the  Frenchman  or  the  Gaul,  whom.  Caesar  fought,  and 
who  has  been  characterized  as  of  "  indomitable  spirit 
and  ready  for  any  emergency."  He  is  as  pure  a  type 
of  his  nation  as  General  Pershing  is  of  the  United 
States,  or  General  Haig  of  Scotland ;  a  lean,  quick- 
gestured,  intellectual,  aggressive  "  priest  of  offensive 
warfare."  He  moves  alertly  upon  his  feet,  and  is,  ac- 
cording to  his  friends,  seen  at  his  best  when  mounted 
upon  his  favorite  horse,  for  then  he  looks  much  more 
than  his  five-feet-six-inches  of  height  and  much  less 
than  his  sixty-six  years. 

While  professor  at  the  French  Military  School,  Gen- 
eral Foch  wrote  two  books  upon  military  matters:  one, 
the  "  Conduct  of  War  " ;  the  other,  the  "  Principles  of 
War,"  both  of  which  are  filled  with  maxims  and  argu- 
ments which  might  have  been  inspired  by  the  present 
crisis.  One  of  his  favorite  maxims  is  this :  "  Victory 
is  a  thing  of  the  will,"  and  the  first  essential  in  a  gen- 


98  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

eral  should  be  "  moral  and  physical  character  and  a 
possession  of  sufficient  energy  to  take  the  necessary 
risks."  He  says,  at  every  opportunity,  that  the  essen- 
tial duty  of  a  leader  is  to  read  the  enemy's  mind,  to 
outguess  your  opponent,  as  it  were,  and  to  hit  where 
he  least  expects  you  to  hit.  This  principle  he  carried 
out  in  smashing  the  Germans  after  their  advance  to- 
wards Paris  in  the  early  part  of  the  summer  of  1918, 
and  so  successful  was  he  in  crushing  the  Boche  that 
victory  perched  upon  the  banner  of  the  Allies,  and  the 
proud  hosts  from  Hun-land  were  humbled  to  the  dust. 

But  let  us  look  back  a  bit  in  history  and  see  who  was 
the  real  winner  of  the  first  battle  of  the  Mame. 

The  vast  German  army,  trained  to  the  minute,  eager 
for  the  capture  of  Paris,  keen  for  another  repetition  of 
the  triumph  of  the  year  1870,  had  crashed  through  Bel- 
gium in  the  fall  of  1914,  had  leveled  the  stout  de- 
fenses of  Liege,  had  beaten  to  a  pulp  the  patriotic 
Belgian  army,  and  had  pushed  on  upon  a  triumphant 
course  towards  Paris.  The  British  army,  ninety  thou- 
sand strong  (but,  oh,  what  a  ninety  thousand!)  was 
rapidly  being  brought  over  the  channel  in  order  to  hit 
the  vast  gray  mass  of  invaders  upon  the  right  flank. 
Meanwhile,  the  French  army  —  quickly  mobilized  — 
had  marched  on  to  meet  this  infernal  machine  and,  if 
possible,  to  save  the  city  of  Paris  from  capture.  In- 
vader and  defender  met  at  the  peaceful-moving  waters 
of  the  Mame,  in  about  the  same  place  that  Attila  had 
fought  the  battle  of  Chalons,  many,  many  centuries 
before. 

There  was  a  battle:  intense,  furious,  awe-inspiring. 


FERDINAND  FOCH  99 

The  Frenchmen  said,  "  They  shall  not  pass !  "  and, 
after  one  of  the  most  sanguinary  struggles  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world,  the  German  masses  were  stopped  in 
their  triumphant  course  towards  the  French  capital. 

"  Who  wrought  the  miracle  of  the  victory  at  the 
Marne  ?"  was  asked  of  an  old  French  artilleryman. 
"  Tactically,"  he  answered,  "  the  final  victory  was  due 
to  General  Foch." 

"Ah,  ha !  And  how  was  that,  pray  ?  "  "  General 
Foch  saw  a  bad  liaison  between  two  German  armies," 
he  explained.  "  There  was  a  weak  spot,  although  the 
attack  was  heavy  on  both  the  general's  wings.  He 
thrust  his  guns  up  into  the  gap,  while  he  developed  the 
wedge  with  his  infantry.  Those  batteries,  which  were 
beautifully  placed,  raked  the  Germans  so  unmercifully 
that  retreat  was  ordered."  "  Only  twice,"  he  added, 
"  have  I  seen  what  they  call  a  panic  upon  the  field  of 
battle.  This  was  the  second  occasion,  and  one  large 
German  unit,  at  least  a  battalion  strong,  cut  and  ran  as 
the  General's  75 's  opened  on  them  from  only  a  four- 
hundred-yard  range.  It  was  sauve  qui  pent  (save  him- 
self, he  who  can)." 

The  battle  of  the  Marne  was  a  French  victory:  the 
Germans  withdrew  and  intrenched,  and  now  occurred 
a  four  years'  struggle  for  the  mastery  of  French  soil 
which  finally  has  resulted  in  a  glorious  triumph  for 
the  Allies;  but,  as  the  old  artilleryman  has  so  aptly 
said,  it  was  Foch  and  his  75's  that  won  the  day  at 
the  great  battle  near  the  scene  of  Attila's  defeat  so 
many  years  before. 

After  the  terrible  fight,  the  English  came  in  numbers 


100  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

across  the  channel,  and,  facing  the  Iluns  from  Ostend 
to  the  Sonune  —  where  they  joined  their  right  flank 
with  the  French  left  —  began  a  stubborn  and  relentless 
fight  against  the  bloodthirsty  invaders  of  French  and 
Belgian  territory.  Then  their  force  was  augmented  by 
the  American  Army,  so  that  when  General  Foch  was 
placed  in  supreme  command  of  the  Allies  he  directed 
the  efforts  of  a  greater  force  than  any  one  man  had 
ever  before  been  asked  to  lead  in  the  history  of  the 
world. 

Men  who  are  educated  and  paid  to  fight  and  to  kill 
usually  have  a  steely  and  heartless  glance :  the  mark  of 
militarism.  There  was  nothing  kindly  about  the 
countenances  of  either  Caesar  or  Napoleon.  Kitchener 
had  the  cold,  clear  eye  of  a  golden  eagle.  You  would, 
therefore,  imagine  that  upon  the  face  of  Ferdinand  Foch 
would  be  shown  the  mark  of  the  man  of  blood  and  of 
iron.  But  such  is  not  the  case.  There  is  a  certain 
gentleness  upon  the  countenance  of  this  generalissimo 
of  the  vast  Allied  army:  a  Latin  smoothness  and  flexi- 
bility. 

The  French  leader  has  the  reputation  for  being  very 
reserved  and  quite  distant  in  his  manner.  His  orders 
are  given  very  briefly  and,  when  busy  with  war  and  its 
works,  he  is  a  man  of  very  few  words.  He  hardly  ever 
makes  addresses  to  the  soldiers:  in  fact,  they  would 
like  to  have  him  exhort  them  more  than  he  does. 
Every  man  has  some  bad  habit,  or  there  is  a  general 
fault  about  him,  and  it  is  said,  to  his  detriment,  in  a 
land  where  smoking  is  often  practiced  to  excess,  and, 
at  a  time  when  there  is  more  of  it  than  ever  before, 


FERDINAND  FOCH  101 

Foch  is  one  of  the  champions.  He  is  never  without 
a  cigarette  between  his  lingers,  but  generally  this  cig- 
arette is  allowed  to  go  out. 

And  how  about  his  strategy?  It  is  tme  that,  with 
the  vast  resources  at  his  command,  there  could  be  but  one 
outcome  of  the  attack  by  his  troops  upon  the  western 
front,  yet  it  took  a  man  of  keen  mind  to  direct  the 
Allied  advance  so  that  the  vast  Hun  machine  could  be 
smashed.  On  July  18th,  1918,  these  attacks  were  com- 
menced; on  November  the  11th,  1918,  they  ended  in 
victory. 

At  the  beginning  of  his  offensive,  the  backs  of  the 
Allies  were  against  the  wall  —  the  sea  wall,  which,  if 
the  Germans  were  to  reach,  would  mean  victory  for  the 
Huns.  It  was  important  that  the  invaders  should  be 
kept  from  reaching  the  ocean ;  that  they  should  be 
smashed  back  from  the  Sonrnie  Eiver  where  they  had 
concentrated.  Along  the  river  Marne  a  dangerous 
wedge  had  been  driven  into  the  French  line  and  this 
jutted  towards  Paris.  This  must  be  cleared  away  be- 
fore a  genuine  offensive  could  be  possible. 

Foch's  plan  was  like  Grant's  before  the  battle  of  the 
Wilderness,  i.e.,  to  keep  on  hammering,  hammering 
until  he  exhausted  his  opponent.  The  Americans  were 
now  arriving  in  great  numbers  and  were  concentrated 
along  the  Toul  front  and  from  St.  Mihiel,  east  and 
south.  These  forces  were  not  expected  to  attack  at 
once,  but  were  to  drill  and  be  trained  for  a  final  of- 
fensive. 

The  British,  meanwhile,  were  making  such  smashing 
attacks  on  the  north  that  the  Germans  were  losing  vast 


102  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

numbers  of  men.  Their  lines  finally  became  very  much 
weakened  and  an  appeal  to  Austria  was  the  result. 
Thus  the  lines  to  the  northward  were  temporarily  bol- 
stered up. 

Now  the  Huns  (cheered  on  from  the  rear  by  a  crazy- 
headed  Kaiser,  whose  bombastic  utterances  sounded  like 
the  remarks  of  a  wild  man)  made  an  attempt  to  take 
Paris.  Putting  in  division  after  division,  they  pressed 
on  from  Rheims  to  Chateau-Thien-y,  pushing  on  be- 
fore them  the  French  Army.  All  was  going  well  until 
the  Americans  were  rushed  into  the  fray.  They  came 
up  in  motor  trucks,  and  among  them  the  U.  S.  Marines, 
"  first  to  fight  "  in  all  of  the  affairs  in  which  Uncle 
Sam  is  interested.  The  new  troops  —  full  of  ginger 
and  "  pep  " —  were  lined  up  against  the  Germans,  and 
then  there  was  such  a  signal  turn  in  the  tide,  and  such 
a  murderous  reception,  that  the  Germans  to  this  day  call 
our  soldiers  "  toufeJliunden,"  or  devil  dogs. 

The  Marne  salient  was  soon  eliminated,  but  there 
was  still  grimmer  work  for  the  Americans.  Down 
beyond  Verdun  to  St.  Mihiel,  and  then  to  Pont-a-Mous- 
son,  and  it  was  important  that  this,  too,  should  be 
blotted  out.     To  the  Americans  was  given  this  task. 

How  they  did  this,  how  quickly,  how  speedily  —  all 
the  world  knows.  The  St.  ]\Iihiel  salient  was  soon 
wiped  out,  thousands  of  prisoners  were  captured  before 
they  could  escape  to  their  own  lines,  and,  pressing  their 
advantage  to  the  full,  the  troops  under  General  Per- 
shing now  moved  on  through  the  Argonne  forest  to  the 
^Metz-Lille  road.  The  pass  of  the  Grand  Pre  was  soon 
taken,  and,  trusting  to  the  Meuse  River  to  protect  its 


FERDINAND  FOCH  103 

right  flank,  the  firet  American  Army  gradually  worked 
its  way  northward  until  the  Metz-Lille  road  was  under 
fire  of  its  giins. 

Now,  Austria  withdrew  from  the  war,  and  the  Aus- 
trian divisions  which  had  been  sent  to  this  section  as 
reinforcements  were  withdrawn.  The  Germans  broke 
and  the  American  commander  was  not  slow  to  take 
advantage  of  the  situation.  The  fresh  troops,  buoyant 
and  cheerful,  went  forward,  nearer  and  nearer  to  the 
vital  railway,  and,  although  the  Germans  made  serious 
attempts  to  stop  the  advance,  they  were  driven  behind 
the  Mouse  and  Sedan  was  taken.  Sedan  was  where  the 
French  forces,  under  jS^apoleon  the  Third,  capitulated 
to  the  Germans  in  1870.  At  Sedan  the  troops  from 
America  delivered  the  final  blow  at  Germany. 

Meanwhile,  the  French  —  operating  west  of  the 
American  forces  —  gave  a  wonderful  example  of  co- 
operation. Held  back  for  a  short  time  by  the  defenses 
of  the  Oise-Serre  angle,  they  finally  broke  through  the 
German  wall  of  steel  and  the  Huns  were  forced  into 
the  open.  They  were  made  to  fall  back  along  the  Aisne 
and  a  real  retreat  began:  a  real  retreat  along  the  line 
from  the  Oise  to  the  Mouse. 

The  British,  at  the  same  time,  had  been  delivering 
fearful  blows  in  Flanders.  They  crossed  the  Scheldt, 
north  of  Valenciennes,  pushed  their  lines  well  to  the  east 
along  the  line  of  the  Conde-Mons  canal,  and  approached 
Maubeuge.  Everywhere  German  resistance  gave  way, 
and  France  was  almost  entirely  cleared  of  German 
troops. 

At  this  propitious  moment,  when  everywhere  the  Al- 


104  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

lies  were  trmmphant  and  Austria  had  collapsed  en- 
tirely, the  German  government  signed  an  armistice 
which  did  away  with  the  fighting  until  peace  terms 
could  be  decided  upon.  JSTo  wonder  Marshal  Foch  was 
jubilant,  for,  when  you  realize  what  a  position  he  had 
been  in  early  in  the  Fall  of  1870  you  can  appreciate 
what  the  French  patriot  was  thinking  about.  Let  us 
view  the  scene  of  long  ago! 

It  was  in  the  year  1870,  the  time,  the  early  Fall, 
when  the  russet  leaves  have  just  commenced  to  flutter 
to  the  ground. 

Along  a  winding  road  of  northern  France  which  led 
from  the  ancient  fortress  of  Sedan  rolled  an  open 
carriage.  Before  it  rode  a  guard  of  French  lancers, 
with  arms  shining  in  the  sunlight,  and  with  pennants 
fluttering  from  their  lance-heads.  Behind  it  clattered 
officers  in  the  uniform  of  Napoleonic  France.  Further 
in  the  rear,  and,  with  a  look  of  sneering  conquest  on 
their  faces,  came  steel-helmeted  Prussian  hussars,  rank 
upon  rank,  and  squadron  after  squadron.  It  was  a  mov- 
ing spectacle. 

In  the  carriage,  guarded  by  all  of  these  men-at-arms, 
sat  jSTapoleon  the  Third,  Emperor  of  the  French.  He 
was  going  to  meet  the  King  of  Prussia  at  Chateau  Belle- 
vue,  to  surrender  his  sword  and  his  crushed  and  beaten 
armies.  Upon  his  flabby  face  was  written  great  physi- 
cal suffering,  while  deep  lines  were  furrowed  in  his 
cheeks,  telling  of  a  grievous  illness  which  was  fast 
bringing  him  to  his  grave.  His  mind  was  in  no  pleas- 
ant state,  for  he  faced  a  conquering  foe. 

The  humiliated  Monarch  entered  the  salon  of  a  cha- 


FERDINAND  FOCH  105 

tea\i,  followed  by  the  officers  of  his  staff.  There  the 
leaders  of  the  Prussian  host  with  which  he  had  just  been 
battling  awaited  him.  The  German  officers  courteously 
arose  as  he  entered,  and  stood  at  attention  —  their  stiff- 
ened right  arms  touching  their  helmets  as  is  their  cour- 
teous custom.  The  King  of  Prussia  remained  seated, 
and,  arrogantly  gazing  at  the  man  whose  honored  guest 
he  had  been  not  long  before,  he  said : 

"  I  am  dee-lighted  to  see  you." 

Napoleon  the  Third  was  stooping  over,  bent  with  pain. 
Drawing  his  sword,  he  presented  it  to  the  Prussian,  hilt 
to  the  fore. 

"  Sire,"  he  whimpered,  "  here  is  my  sword." 

The  Prussian  leered  at  it. 

"  I  take  it,"  said  he. 

Fondling  it  a  moment,  as  if  it  were  some  bauble,  he 
cried  out,  loudly : 

"  I  give  it  back  to  you." 

The  French  officers  drew  deep  breaths,  for  the  tone 
of  the  speech  had  stung  them  to  the  quick.  Their  black 
eyes  shone  like  diamonds. 

Among  them  was  a  young  fellow  —  almost  a  boy  — 
and,  as  the  Prussian  ]\ronarch  growled  out  the  stinging 
words  they  cut  the  patriotic  Frenchman  to  the  quick. 
"  He  clearly  meant,  I'll  take  care  of  you,"  said  he,  to 
a  fellow  officer.     "  He  is  a  dog." 

This  youthful  officer  was  the  future  Marshal  Foch. 
And  he  never  forgot  the  words  of  the  Prussian 
King. 

The  sneering  Prussian  was  the  grandfather  of  Wil- 
liam Hohenzollern,  formerly  Monarch  of  Germany. 


106  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

Turn  the  reel,  Father  Time,  we  have  another  picture 
to  show  the  spectators ! 

It  is  Fall  again  in  La  Belle  France :  the  Fall  of  1918 : 

Amidst  the  debris  of  the  roads  in  northern  France 
play  searchlights.  Three  limousines  creep  into  the  flash 
of  the  brilliant  glare,  and,  as  they  approach,  white  flags 
are  seen  fluttering  from  their  bodies.  Inside  are  Ger- 
mans —  cross-looking  Germans  —  they  seek  an  armis- 
tice. 

The  trespassers  upon  the  soil  of  France  are  met  with 
courteous  consideration.  French  officers  meet  them, 
smile  sweetly,  enter  their  cars  and  guide  them  over 
the  dark  i-oads  until  Chateau  Frankfort  is  reached. 
It  is  in  the  deep  forest  of  Compiegne,  and  a  stop  is 
made  here  for  the  night. 

The  Germans  snore  loudly.  They  do  not  let  defeat 
worry  them. 

The  next  day  all  motor  to  Senlis,  where,  in  a  railway 
car,  sits  the  same  officer  who  was  at  the  capitulation 
of  Sedan,  now  a  grizzled  man.  He  is  General issimo- 
in-Chief  of  the  Allied  armies. 

The  Germans  enter  the  car,  hats  in  their  hands,  and 
he  rises  to  meet  them. 

His  voice  is  tense,  calm,  clear. 

"  What  do  you  wish,  gentlemen  ?  " 

"  We  have  come,  Marshal,  in  order  to  arrange  the 
terms  for  an  armistice,"  said  one  of  their  number. 
"  We  accept  President  Wilson's  fourteen  points.  Ger- 
many is  beaten." 

What  was  his  reply? 


FERDINAND  FOCH  107 

We  do  not  know  what  the  gallant  Field-Marshal 
said,  but  we  imagine  that  it  was  something  like 
this: 

"  The  terms,  gentlemen,  will  be  severe,  owing  to  the 
barbarous  manner  in  which  your  people  have  waged  this 
war.     They  are  as  follows :  " 

Then  he  read  to  them  the  program  already  agreed 
upon  by  the  Allies,  and  no  more  crushing  ultimatum 
had  ever  been  delivered  to  a  beaten  power. 

The  keen-eyed  ^Marshal  had  no  tone  of  sneering  or  of 
overburdening  triumph  in  his  voice  as  he  read.  Yet  — 
away  back  in  his  mind  —  he  had  the  scene  of  another 
surrender  indelibly  engraved  upon  his  memory  —  that 
of  Sedan,  when  his  Emperor  was  humiliated.  And,  as 
he  read  on,  the  great  Generalissimo  of  the  French  and 
Allied  armies,  smiled  —  not  leeringly,  but  good- 
naturedly  —  into  the  stolid  eyes  of  the  crestfallen  Ger- 
man emissaries. 

What  had  the  Marshal  to  do  with  the  final  triumph  ? 

This  is  v^^ell  expressed  by  the  words  of  Premier  Clem- 
enceau,  who,  when  approached  by  several  Senators  with 
the  words : 

"  You  are  the  savior  of  France,"  replied :  "  Gentle- 
men, I  thank  you.  I  did  not  deserve  the  honor  which 
you  have  done  me.  Let  me  tell  you  that  I  am  proudest 
that  you  have  associated  my  name  with  that  of  Marshal 
Foch,  that  great  soldier,  who,  in  the  darkest  hours,  never 
doubted  the  destiny  of  his  country.  He  has  inspired 
every  one  with  courage,  and  we  owe  him  an  infinite 
debt)' 


108  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

SO,  THREE  TIMES  THREE  FOR  GENERAL 
EOCH! 

He  is  the  man  who  never  lost  his  cheerfulness  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  the  soldiers  of  his  country  —  bleeding 
and  distressed  —  have  been  fighting  a  gruelling  war 
and  struggling  for  a  long  time  against  terrific  odds. 
The  signing  of  the  armistice  terms,  submitted  by  the 
Allies,  practically  brought  to  an  end  the  greatest  war 
in  the  history  of  the  human  race  —  a  war  which  brought 
suffering  and  misery  to  the  people  of  every  land :  which 
cost  $224,303,205,000  in  treasure,  and  nearly  4,500,- 
000  lives.  The  end  of  hostilities  1,556  days  after  the 
first  shot  was  fired,  tendered  to  civilization  the  assurance 
that  never  again  shall  people  be  threatened  with  the  slav- 
ery of  a  despotically  autocratic  rule. 

Cheerful  when  things  were  blackest,  cheerful  when 
events  were  brightest,  let  history  record  with  truthful 
significance,  that  here  —  at  least  —  has  been  one  soldier 
who  is  the  living  personification  of  that  ancient  doctrine : 

"When  things  look  darkest:  SMILE!  SMILE! 
SMILE !  " 


LE  MARECHAL  FOCH 

Some  sing  a  song  of  bold  Turenne,  who  fought  and  bled 

at  Inn, 
Some  sing  of  good  old  Marshal  Saxe,  that  soul  of  fire 

and  vim, 
Some  shout  of  val'rous  Marshal  'Nej,  who  was  ISTapol- 

eon's  friend, 
And  some  of  dashing  Kellerman,  hard-riding  to  the  end. 

But,  listen,  boys.   Til  sing-  a  song  of 

Foch!     Foch!     Foch! 
I'll  even  make  the  Germans  join,  the 

Boche !     Boche  !     Boclie  ! 
The  fellow  with  the  eagle  nose,  keen  vision  like  a  hawk. 
Who  is  always  working  quietly,  and  lets  the  others  talk. 

Perhaps  you  can't  remember,  'twas  September  of  the 

year, 
Wh'en  all  the  world  was  somber,  and  all  the  foliage  se^er. 
The  Germans  swept  douTi  from  the  iSJ^orth,  a  million  men 

or  more. 
With  gatlings,  mortars,  poison  gas,  and  generals  by  the 

score. 

Then  Clemenceau  set  up  a  call,  for 

Foch!     Foch!     Foch! 
The  five-foot-six-inch  General,  to  stop  the 

Boche!     Boche!     Boche! 

109 


110  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

They  didn't  have  to  search  for  him,  for  he*  was  on  the 

ground ; 
Indeed,  wherever  trouble  was,   old  Foch   was  always 

found. 

The  Dutchmen  they  were  laughing,  for  they  had  their 

steins  along, 
And  they  whistled  and  they  chuckled  as  they  sang  their 

drinking  song, 
Then  each  one  took  a  swig  of  beer  and  tightened  on  his 

gun, 
And  bristled  his  mustachios,  a  la  Attila  the  Hun. 

But  the  Frenchmen  only  jeered  at  them,  with 

Foch!     Foch!     Foch! 
And  the  Poilus  only  guyed  them,  with  a 

Boche !     Boche !     Boche ! 
And  they  put  on  their  steel  helmets,  and  they  primed 

their  seventy-fives, 
And  they  cried  out :     "  Come  on,  Dutchmen !     Here  is 
where  we  sell  our  lives !  " 

On  came  the  val'rous  Hunnish  hordes,  on  surged  the 

Kaiser's  best, 
While  the  Crown  Prince  loitered  in  the  rear,  and  swelled 

his  cross-strewn  vest. 
They  fired  with  fifty  thousand  gims,  shot  off  poison  by 

the  ton, 
But  they  couldn't  make  the  Frenchmen  quail  or  get 

them  on  the  run. 


FERDINAND  FOCH  111 

For  the  Poilus  kept  on  fighting  under 

Foch!     Foch!     Foch! 

And  their  rifles  kept  on  barking  at  the 

Boche !     Boche  !     Boche  ! 
And  the  men  from  farms  and  vineyards,  from  the  streets 

of  gay  Paree, 
Cried  out:     "  We^ve  got  you,  Dutchies!     Here's  where 
we  end  your  spree  !  " 

"  This  isn't  going  to  be  a  joke,  as  it  was  in  '71, 

This  isn't  going  to  be  a  rout,  we're  going  to  have  some 

fun, 
It  will  not  be  Sedan  again,  for  Foch  is  not  Bazaine, 
We're  going  to  drive  back  Deutchland,  from  the  Sambre 

to  the  Aisne." 

"  For,  can't  you  see  we're  marching  under 

Foch!     Foch!     Foch! 
For  don't  you  know  we're  laughing  at  you 

Boche!     Boche!     Boche! 
We've  got  the  best  artillery  in  all  the  bloomin'  world. 
And  we'll  outfight  the  Prussian  Guard,  now  that  our 
flag's  unfurled." 

For  two  long  days  the  Kaiser's  men,  they  tried  to  go 

ahead, 
For  two  long  days  the  Prussian  host,  they  charged,  and 

fought,  and  bled, 
But  they  couldn't  get  across  the  Marne,  or  do  what 

Bliicher's  force, 


112  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

Did  to  the  French  in  olden  days  when  Xappy  was  the 
boss. 

For  the  Poihis  now  were  fighting  under 

Foch!     Foch!     Foch! 
And  their  artillerists  were  mowing  down  the 

Boclie !     Boclie !     Boche ! 
And  the  quiet  Marshal  won  the  day.     He's  of  kin  to 

Joan  of  Arc, 
And  if  you  ever  meet  them  face  to  face,  you'll  hear  the 
Poilus  bark : 

"  We're  happy  that  the  gods  have  sent  us 

Foch!     Foch!     Foch! 
For  he  has  taught  us  how  to  lick  the 

Boche!     Boche!     Boche! 
We've  had  some  dandy  fighters  in  the  days  of  long  ago, 
But,  was  there  one  to  equal  Foch  ?     The  answer  is  '  No, 
no!'" 


SIR  DOUGLAS  HAIG 

COMMANDER  OF  THE  BRITISH 
FORCES  IN  FRANCE 


SIR  DOUGLAS  HAIO 

COMMAXDER  OF  THE  BRITISH 
FORCES  IX  FRAXCE 

A  QUIET,  modest  man.  with  a  low.  deep  voice 
and  a  clear,  blue  eye  —  such  is  Sir  Douglas 
Ilaig  —  leader  of  the  vast  army  which  Eng- 
land gathered  from  the  four  corners  of  the  globe  to 
crush,  if  possible,  the  might  of  Prussian  autocracy. 
''  He  doesn't  talk  much ;  he  is  a  Fifer,"  his  brother  of- 
ficers say  of  him,  and,  when  they  say  Fifer  they  do  not 
mean  a  fife  player,  but  one  who  hails  from  the  little 
kingdom  of  Fife,  where  courage  is  as  hard  as  the  gran- 
ite hills,  and  whence  came  the  Clan  ]\IacDuff,  the  great- 
est fighters  of  a  fighting  race. 

The  fierce  world  conflict  which  has  brought  all  of 
the  nations  into  the  melee,  has  carried  Sir  Douglas  Haig 
into  prominence  and  thrust  him  into  the  lime-light. 
Prior  to  this  eventful  contest  he  was  known  to  be  a 
thorouehlv  reliable  officer  in  the  British  armv,  a  srrad- 
uate  of  Oxford  and  a  lover  of  horseflesh.  In  18S5  he 
joined  the  7th  Hussars,  seiwed  in  the  Soudan  in  1898, 
including  the  battles  of  Atbara  and  Khartoum ;  was  in 
the  South  African  "War  in  1899,  and  General  of  the  Di- 
vision of  Cavalry  in  1900. 

When  this  patriotic  English  soldier  was  in  Eg^'pt,  he 
was  but  a  Captain  of  cavalry,  and  was  serving  under 
the  famous  Lord  Kitchener,  called  Kitchener  of  Khar- 

115 


116  FAMOUS  GENEEALS 

toum.  General  Gordon  had  been  killed  by  the  Der- 
vishes at  Khartoum,  and,  with  slow  but  steady  progress, 
the  English  were  moving  against  this  city  in  order  to 
defeat  the  native  forces  which  held  it,  and  to  wipe  out 
the  disgrace  of  the  murder  of  brave  General  Gordon, 
and  the  massacre  of  his  entire  command. 

The  Sirdar,  as  Kitchener  was  called,  was  building 
a  railway,  as  he  advanced  upon  Khartoum  with  his 
troops.  The  steel  rails  crept  steadily  across  the  desert, 
transporting  both  men  and  supplies,  and,  as  he 'saw 
its  approach,  the  Khalifa,  or  head  chief  of  the  Der- 
vishes, grew  fearful  of  what  was  about  to  take  place. 
He  ordered  his  most  faithful  General  —  one  Mahmud 
—  to  strike  the  advancing  English  and  EgA^ptians,  with 
some  ten  thousand  of  his  wild  tribesmen.  But  Mahmud 
was  fearful  of  the  English  and  dared  not  fight  them. 

Among  the  English  cavalrymen  was  a  straight,  well- 
knit  young  fellow  named  Haig  —  Douglas  Haig  —  and 
one  day  he  was  sent  forward  to  reconnoiter  near  the 
Atbara  I?iver.  In  vain  he  looked  for  Mahmud ;  the 
wily  old  fox  had  intrenched  himself  somewhere  in  the 
scrub  of  mimosa  and  date-palms,  half  grass  and  half 
creeper,  and  it  was  impossible  to  find  him.  The  Brit- 
ish force  behind  sweltered  in  the  moist  heat  of  that 
tropic  land  and  shivered  at  night.  Oh,  if  they  could 
but  get  at  the  old  renegade ! 

At  Shendi,  a  little  depot  up  the  Nile,  it  was  learned 
that  Mahmud  had  many  troops,  many  women,  and  much 
loot.  The  Sirdar,  therefore,  sent  three  gun-boats  up  the 
river  to  bombard  the  stronghold,  and,  on  land,  a  force 
of  the  15th  Egyptians  and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 


SIR  DOUGLAS  HAIG  117 

native  tribesmen  of  the  Jaalin  band.  There  were  also 
two  field  guns.  When  these  boats  were  within  range 
and  shelled  the  garrison  every  one  left  post-haste  for 
Omdurman,  leaving  the  women  behind,  and  these  were 
immediately  appropriated  by  the  native  troops,  together 
with  all  the  stores  they  found. 

This  raid  was  successful  and  it  did  not  bring  Mah- 
mud  into  the  open,  so  again  the  British  and  Egyptian 
force  advanced  towards  Khartoum.  Captain  Douglas 
Haig  was  sent  forward  once  more  to  ascertain  where 
the  wily  old  fox  was, —  with  him  went  cavalry,  a  horse 
battery,  and  several  Maxim  guns.  After  going  east- 
ward and  south  for  about  four  miles,  the  outposts  of 
the  Arabs  were  met  with  and  the  cavalry  chased  the 
Dervishes  for  full  twelve  miles  across  the  sandy  waste. 
Then,  as  Haig  and  several  other  cavalrymen  debouched 
from  behind  a  high  hillock,  they  suddenly  found  that 
they  were  within  sight  of  a  palisade,  surrounded  by  a 
trench,  behind  which  were  at  least  fifteen  hundred 
Dervishes,  armed  to  the  teeth. 

Without  more  ado,  the  officers  rode  back  towards  the 
supporting  column,  but  not  until  they  had  ordered  the 
Maxims  to  throw  a  few  shells  into  the  fortification, 
just  to  show  the  Arabs  that  they  would  shortly  be  back 
in  order  to  avenge  the  death  of  General  Gordon.  Then, 
trotting  easily  to  the  camp  of  Lord  Kitchener,  they  re- 
ported that  they  had  found  Old  Mahmud  —  intrenched 
—  and  it  looked  as  if  he  were  going  to  stay  there  and 
fight. 

Mahmud's  camp  was  on  the  northeast  bank  of  the 
Atbara,  and  around  the  entire  camp  ran  a  trench,  or 


118  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

zareba,  of  thorn  bushes.  Lord  Kitchener  determined 
to  attack  at  once  and  to  keep  the  cavalry,  in  which  was 
Captain  Haig,  to  the  rear  and  left,  so  that,  when  the 
troops  had  forced  an  entrance  into  the  palisade,  and 
the  enemy  had  begun  to  flee,  the  cavalrymen  could  dash 
into  the  mass  and  cut  all  down  who  refused  to  surrender. 

Captain  Douglas  Haig  smiled  grimly  beneath  his 
light  mustache,  and  looked  carefully  to  his  gun  and 
equipment.  As  the  sun  went  down  in  a  blaze  of  splen- 
dor, lighting  up  the  parapet  of  Mahmud  with  his  wild 
riders  of  the  Egyptian  desert,  from  behind  the  palisades 
of  which  half  a  dozen  little  flags  fluttered  in  the  gentle 
breeze,  he  said  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Broadwood  in 
charge  of  all  the  cavalry : 

"  To-morrow,  Colonel,  we  will  see  the  revenge  of  Gor- 
don, and  the  beginning  of  the  end." 

Here  and  there  a  white-clad  figure  dodged  behind 
the  parapets,  the  saffron,  pale-blue,  yellow  and  chocolate 
flags  fluttered,  fluttered,  and  a  great  blue  heron  flew 
across  the  sandy  waste  of  the  river  saying:  *' Qu  — 
aak!" 

"  That,"  said  Captain  Haig,  "  sounds  like  '  Mahmud 
w-a-l-k.'  " 

Morning  dawned,  and  as  the  smoke  of  the  camp  fires 
ascended  in  the  still  air  a  Maxim  gun  sounded  the  first 
note  of  conflict.  The  orders  were  to  rush  right  up  to 
the  parapet,  to  pull  down  the  thorn  and  wood  palisade, 
to  jump  the  trenches,  and  then  to  go  in  and  fight  hand- 
to-hand. 

A  battery  of  Krupps  now  opened  fire.     The  sun 
had  risen,  showing  the  British  -and  Egyptian  army  ly- 


SIR  DOUGLAS  HAIG  119 

ing  along  the  low  hills,  or  plateau,  in  a  long  arc  — 
Gatacre's  British  brigade  of  Lincolns,  Seaforth,!  Cam- 
erons,  and  Warwicks  on  the  left ;  Hector  Macdonald's 
Egyptians  in  the  center;  and  Maxwell's  brigade  curv- 
ing around  to  the  right,  or  west.  The  whole  crest  was 
covered  with  Kitchener's  army :  Egyptians  in  black 
jerseys,  Soudanese  in  fez  and  broad  trousers,  British  in 
khaki  —  thousands  strong.  As  Mahmud  looked  over 
the  parapet  wall  at  the  serried  column  of  avengers  of 
General  Gordon,  his  heart  must  have  sunk,  for  truly  the 
hand  of  steel  was  at  his  throat. 

Captain  Haig,  with  the  cavalry,  was  well  to  the  rear 
and  left  flank;  on  the  right  flank  was  the  native,  or 
Egyptian  cavalry.  As  the  gallant  Englishman  gazed 
at  ]\rahmud'8  palisades,  four  batteries  jingled  and  clat- 
tered into  position  about  a  hundred  yards  in  front  of 
the  line  of  battalions.  They  wheeled,  sighted,  and  then 
a  sheet  of  flame  belched  from  their  mouths.  BOOM! 
The  battle  of  Atbara  had  begun. 

For  ten  minutes  the  bombardment  continued  and 
clouds  of  dust  began  to  be  kicked  up  in  Mahmud's  in- 
closure,  while  several  of  the  thatched  huts  there  caught 
on   fire.      Suddenly  some  one  cried :     "  Look  there !  " 

Hundreds  of  horsemen  were  seen  scrambling  into  their 
saddles  within  the  inclosure  —  they  dashed  through  an 
opening  on  the  right  of  the  zareba,  and  headed  for  the 
Egyptian  cavalry  on  the  English  right.  With  a  cheer, 
the  native  troops  leaped  to  their  own  saddles  and  ad- 
vanced to  meet  in  mortal  combat,  while  the  Maxims 
shot  great  gaps  in  the  oncoming  line  of  Dervishes.  But 
—  see !  —  they    wheel  —  they    retire  —  they    scramble 


120  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

again  into  the  palisade !  They  have  been  unwilling  to 
meet  in  a  hand-to-hand  engagement. 

For  an  hour  and  twenty  minutes  the  krupps  thun- 
dered and  roared.  The  straw  huts  began  to  blaze  — 
yet  the  Arabs  made  no  reply  —  they  awaited  the  on- 
slaught with  calmness.  xA.t  last  the  work  of  the  guns 
was  over,  and  Kitchener  raised  a  baton  —  giving  the 
order  for  a  general  advance.  With  a  wild  cheer  the 
whole  line  went  forward. 

Bugles  blared,  and,  dismounting,  the  British  officers 
placed  themselves  at  the  head  of  their  commands;  the 
Cameron  Highlanders  armed  with  thick,  raw-hide 
gloves  and  bill-hooks,  in  order  to  tear  away  the  thorn- 
hedges. 

Thirteen  thousand  men  advanced  steadily  together, 
bayonets  flashing  in  the  sun's  rays,  ensigns  fluttering, 
pipes  squealing,  Soudanese  drums  rolling,  and  shrill 
English  bugles  blowing.  At  first  they  went  on  at  a 
slow  march  —  the  front  as  level  as  if  a  ruler  had  been 
held  before  it  —  the  guns  firing  over  their  heads  into 
the  palisade.  Then,  when  they  had  arrived  within 
three  hundred  yards  of  the  trench,  the  Dervishes  let  loose 
at  them  with  rifle  fire.  Men  staggered  and  fell,  but  the 
lines  closed  up  —  kept  on  —  Hurrah!  —  they  are  at  the 
trench  —  Hurrah!  —  they  are  over  it  now  —  they  are 
up  the  palisade  —  they  have  torn  it  asunder  —  they  are 
inside  and  at  the  Arabs :  Seaforths,  Lincolns,  Warwicks, 
Soudanese,  Eg^'ptians,  all  are  in  deadly  hand-to-hand 
combat  with  the  followers  of  Khalifa. 

The  charging  line  of  white  and  black  soldiers  swept 
through  the  camp  and  the  Dervishes  made  a  stiff  fight  of 


SIR  DOUGLAS  HAIG  121 

it.  Many  would  not  run  and  were  shot  and  bayonetted 
where  they  stood;  others  charged  forward  with  sword 
or  spear  in  hand  only  to  be  knocked  down  by  some  well- 
directed  bullet,  or  blow  from  the  butt  of  a  rifle.  The 
bulk  of  the  Mahmud  army  retired  slowly,  turning  now 
and  again  to  shoot.  But  piecemeal  and  by  small  de- 
tachments, they  were  destroyed.  In  less  than  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  the  British  had  swept  clear  through 
the  palisade  and  were  driving  the  Dervishes  over  the  dry 
bed  of  the  river,  where  hundreds  were  picked  off  as 
they  vainly  tried  to  get  away  from  the  rifle-fire  of  the 
skillful  marksmen  in  their  rear.  The  Egyptian  and 
Soudanese  troops,  with  lifelong  injuries  to  set  a-right, 
gave  no  quarter.  The  Highlanders  cried  out  — "  Gor- 
don must  be  avenged !  " 

It  was  now  half  past  eight  and  a  bugle  shrilled  above 
the  uproar  — "  CEASE  FIRING!  " 

The  army  of  Mahmud  had  ceased  to  exist,  and  where 
was  Mahmud,  himself  —  the  trusted  General  of  the 
Mahdi  —  he  who  was  going  to  drive  the  British  into 
the  sea  ? 

In  an  inner  zareba,  seated  on  the  carpeted  floor,  with 
his  weapons  beside  him,  the  defeated  General  had  been 
discovered,  waiting  for  death.  It  is  strange  that  he  had 
not  found  it,  for  the  Soudanese  were  all  around  him 
and  had  rushed  his  place  of  hiding.  Mahmud  was 
dragged  into  the  open,  and  was  about  to  be  cut  down 
when  a  British  officer  intervened  and  carried  him  be- 
fore Kitchener.  There  he  faced  his  Conqueror  —  a  tall 
pure-bred  Arab,  dressed  in  the  uniform  of  the  Khalifa, 
and  awaiting  death  with  no  faltering  glance. 


122  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

"  Are  you  the  man  Mahmud  ?  "  asked  the  Sirdar. 

"  Yes,  I  am  Mahmud,  and  I  command,  just  as  you 
do,"  was  the  tart  reply. 

"  Why  have  you  advanced  against  us  to  burn  and  to 
kill?" 

"  I  have  to  obey  my  orders,  just  as  you,  yourself, 
have  to  do,"  replied  Mahmud,  unbendingly. 

The  Sirdar  may  have  liked  him  better  for  his  de- 
fiant tone,  although  nothing  in  his  face  betrayed  it. 
"  Take  him  away,"  said  he,  "  and  let  him  be  well 
watched." 

As  he  walked  slowly  off,  a  young  British  officer  went 
with  him.  This  fellow  had  ridden  in  with  the  cavalry, 
and  had  fought  his  way  right  through  the  howling  mob 
of  Dervishes.  It  was  Douglas  Haig:  Captain  in  Her 
Majesty's  British  force,  and  a  rattling  good  swords- 
man, so  said  the  humiliated  followers  of  the  Khalifa. 

Kitchener's  men  followed  up  what  was  left  of  Mah- 
mud's  army  to  Omdurman,  where  the  Khalifa  had  a 
force  of  fully  60,000  followers.  Here  he  had  deter- 
mined to  fight  the  Arab  Armageddon,  and  here,  with 
12,000  black  rifiemen  and  13,000  black  and  Arabian 
spearmen  in  the  center,  as  a  main  army,  the  man  who 
wished  to  rule  all  of  Egypt  was  ready  to  cross  swords 
with  Kitchener,  victor  of  Atbara,  and  man  of  iron.  On 
the  second  day  of  September  the  British  and  Egyptian 
forces  were  ready  for  battle,  and  on  that  day  they  met 
the  Khalifa's  host,  with  all  its  majesty  and  might,  to 
fight  for  the  mastery  of  the  upper  portion  of  Egypt. 

Captain  Douglas  Haig  was  with  the  cavalry,  and 
while  his  patrols  watched  the  long  five-mile  front  of  the 


SIR  DOUGLAS  HAIG  123 

Khalifa's  vast  horde  he  held  his  men  in  the  leash,  ready 
to  spring  at  the  shrill  call  of  the  bugle. 

The  Khalifa's  Arabs  were  again  no  match  for  Kitchen- 
er's well-trained  and  seasoned  campaigners.  After  a 
battle,  lasting  all  dav,  the  native  ruler  lost  both  his  army 
and  his  dominion.  The  British  guns  blew  the  Arab 
force  to  the  four  winds  of  the  desert.  There  were  over 
nine  thousand  of  them  killed,  ten  thousand  wounded, 
and  five  thousand  taken  prisoners.  As  the  humiliated 
Arab  chieftain  rushed  towards  Omdurman  —  his  Holy 
City  —  with  his  disorganized  and  defeated  troops,  the 
cavalry,  with  Douglas  Haig,  was  so  hot  in  pursuit  that 
the  Derv'ishes  could  not  stay  and  fight  in  the  city,  but 
streamed  out  upon  the  desert  upon  the  other  side  of  their 
sacred  citadel. 

The  Khalifa  himself,  mounted  upon  a  donkey  and  ac- 
companied by  his  favorite  wife,  made  off  to  the  south- 
ward into  the  desert.  Here,  eight  miles  from  Omdur- 
man swift  camels  awaited  him,  and,  jumping  upon  one 
of  these,  he  rejoined  what  was  left  of  this  once  great 
fighting  host,  but  no  longer  was  he  to  prance  upon  a 
swift  Arabian  charger  as  a  ruler  of  upper  Egypt,  he 
was  now  a  guerilla  and  a  hunted  fugitive  from  the 
wrath  of  the  Sirdar.  Haig  and  his  cavalry  chased 
after  him  on  the  sandy  waste,  but,  having  no  water  for 
their  horses,  they  had  to  return  to  Omdurman,  without 
being  able  to  bag  their  game. 

When  British  met  Boer  in  South  Africa,  and  battled 
on  the  veldt,  Douglas  Haig,  now  a  Colonel,  did  valiant 
service.  He  was  with  the  column  of  General  French 
which  rode  to  the  relief  of  Kimberly,  and  when  Cronje 


124  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

—  the  Boer  leader  who  had  enveloped  the  British  gar- 
rison in  the  town  —  was  driven  from  his  position  and 
finally  rounded-up  at  Klip  Krall  Drift,  who  was  there 
but  gallant  Haig,  sun-burned,  weather-beaten,  hale  and 
fighting  gamely.  Cronje  capitulated  at  Paardeberg,  and 
had  it  not  been  for  General  French  and  hard-riding 
Haig  of  the  cavalry  corps,  it  would  be  doubtful  if  such 
a  successful  climax  would  have  come  to  the  British 
effort. 

When  the  war  was  practically  over  and  the  Boer 
Commandos  split  into  guerilla  bands,  it  was  Douglas 
Haig  who  followed  many  a  detachment  with  his  able 
cavalrymen.     One  of  these  Boers  —  Kritzinger  by  name 

—  eluded  and  outwitted  the  gallant  Douglas  for  some 
time,  but  finally  he  was  driven  into  the  Bavian's  Kloof 
Mountains,  and  here  was  so  harassed  that  he  was  no 
longer  a  factor  in  the  war. 

The  close  of  this  mighty  campaign  found  the  hard- 
hitting cavalry  leader  quite  fit  for  any  duty,  and  cer- 
tainly quite  delighted  when  General  French  cited  him 
for  bravery  in  action,  and  said :  "  Of  all  my  many 
cavalrymen,  not  one  is  so  steadfast  in  duty,  so  willing, 
and  so  modest,  as  Douglas  Haig.  May  he  serve  the 
King  for  many  and  many  a  year." 

In  1901-1902  Sir  Douglas  was  Lieutenant  Colonel 
commanding  the  I7th  Lancers,  and  has  subsequently 
served  as  follows:  Inspector  General  of  Cavalry  in 
India,  1903-1906;  Major  General,  1904;  Lieutenant 
General,  1910;  General,  1914;  Field  Marshal,  1917; 
Director  Military  Transport,  1906-1907;  Director 
Staff  Duties,  Army  Headquarters,  1907-1909;  Chief  of 


SIR  DOUGLAS  HAIG  125 

Staff  in  India,  1909-1912  ;  General  Officer  commanding 
at  Aldershot,  1912-1911;  commanding  1st  British 
Army,  1914-1915 ;  served  to  the  close  of  the  European 
war,  1914-1918. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  very  little  is  known  of  Sir  Doug- 
las Haig.  Ask  any  man  in  London  about  the  leader 
of  the  British  Armies,  and  he  will  say :  "  Why,  he  is 
a  great  soldier."  Press  him  still  further  and  inquire 
upon  what  he  bases  these  remarks,  and  he  will  add: 
"  The  fact  is,  my  friend,  I  really  do  not  know  any- 
thing else  about  this  general.  He  is  a  fine  man, —  that 
is  certain." 

Now,  there's  a  reason  for  all  of  this,  and  a  good  one, 
too,  for  the  great  soldier  shuns  the  spotlight  and  will 
not  talk  to  the  newspaper  brigade.  He  is  the  personi- 
fication of  personal  modesty  —  he  has  a  deep-seated 
aversion  to  being  advertised  in  public  prints.  He  is 
the  typical  Britisher:  calm,  imperturbable,  modest,  re- 
tiring. "  He  has  no  side,"  as  they  say  at  Oxford,  yet 
no  man  has  been  through  more,  or  has  seen  more  than 
this  grim  man  of  the  camp  and  battlefield.  He  was 
the  leader  of  the  British  troops  which  rode  to  the  re- 
lief of  Kimberly;  he  commanded  the  sullen,  shot-torn 
legions  at  the  heroic  retreat  from  Mons,  and  he  looked 
imperturbably  on  as  the  shattered  Canadian  and  Brit- 
ish lines  stemmed  the  German  advance  at  Ypres. 

The  Commander-in-Chief's  cavalry  training  sticks  out 
all  over  him.  He  stands  with  an  easy  and  graceful  car- 
riage, and  walks  with  a  rangy,  swinging  stride,  so  com- 
mon to  men  who  are  a  great  deal  in  the  saddle.  In 
younger  days  he  was  fond  of  riding  to  hounds,  and,  even 


126  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

now,  lie  takes  a  gallop  every  day.  He  does  not  motor 
save  to  reach  some  distant  place  in  short  time,  and  he 
tries  to  keep  physically  fit. 

A  correspondent  says  of  him  that  of  all  the  Allied 
Chieftains  in  the  war,  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
British  army  is  the  best  groomed  and  the  most  soldierly- 
looking  of  the  lot.  He  is  smarter  and  more  alert  than 
Nivelle  and  has  not  the  paternal  appearance  of  Marshal, 
or  "  Papa,"  Joffre.  Amid  all  the  fearful  burden  of 
the  fighting,  he  seems  always  to  be  cheerful,  optimistic, 
unruffled  and  calm.  Like  Foch,  he  has  learned  to  smile 
when  things  look  blackest,  and,  like  the  French  leader, 
he  is  an  optimist  and  not  a  pessimist. 

Sir  Douglas  Haig  is  known  as  "  Lucky  Haig,"  for,  in 
the  South  African  war,  he  had  so  many  narrow  escapes 
from  death  that  he  well  deserves  this  title.  But  he 
might  also  be  called  "Haig  the  Prophet,"  for,  more 
than  twenty  years  ago,  he  visited  Germany,  saw  the 
vast  preparation  which  the  Kaiser  was  making  for  war, 
and  wrote  many  letters  home  to  brother  officers  urging 
preparedness.  "We  will  eventually  have  to  fight  the 
Germans,"  he  said,  "  and  then  we,  too,  should  be  ready." 

Like  the  appeals  of  Lord  Roberts,  these  remarks 
were  passed  by  unheeded  by  the  vast  majority  of  the 
British  people;  for  they  felt  secure  against  invasion, 
protected  by  their  forty  miles  of  war-ships,  and  —  not 
fearing  the  submarine  menace  to  their  merchant  marine 
—  went  on  upon  their  ways  of  trade  and  commerce,  with 
little  thought  of  the  cataclysm  which  was  at  hand. 

The  Englishman  had  the  correct  view.  Had  England 
but   listened   to   his   ideas,   when   the   Germans   burst 


SIR  DOUGLAS  HAIG  127 

through  Belgium  and  swept  over  France,  the  Empire 
would  have  had  more  than  a  standing  army  of  90,000 
to  impede  their  progress.  There  would  have  been  no 
delay  in  training  and  conscripting  a  vast  force,  and 
the  cohorts  of  the  Kaiser  would  have  been  thrown  back, 
some  time  before  they  were  forced,  by  armed  might,  to 
retire.  What  the  Kaiser  called  '"'  the  contemptible  lit- 
tle English  army  "  was  formed  of  seven  divisions,  of 
which  Haig  commanded  the  first  —  including  much  of 
the  cavalry. 

Before  leaving  England  every  soldier  had  received 
from  the  King  the  following  message : 

"  You  are  leaving  home  to  fight  for  the  safety  and 
honor  of  my  Empire.  Belgium,  whose  country  we  are 
pledged  to  defend,  has  been  attacked,  and  France  is 
about  to  be  invaded  by  the  same  powerful  foe. 

"  I  have  implicit  confidence  in  you,  my  soldiers. 
Duty  is  your  watchword,  and  I  know  that  your  duty 
will  be  nobly  done. 

"  I  shall  follow  your  every  movement  with  deepest 
interest  and  mark  with  eager  satisfaction  your  daily 
progress ;  indeed,  your  welfare  will  never  be  absent  from 
my  thoughts. 

"  I  pray  God  to  bless  you  and  guard  you,  and  bring 
you  back  victorious." 

Still  further,  each  man-of-arms  was  given  this  ad- 
vice by  Lord  Kitchener :  "  Be  invariably  courteous, 
considerate,  kind.  Never  do  anything  likely  to  injure  or 
destroy  property,  and  always  look  upon  looting  as  a  dis- 
graceful act.  You  are  sure  to  meet  with  a  welcome  and 
to   be   trusted.     Keep    consistently    upon   your   guard 


128  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

against  any  excesses.  Do  your  duty  bravely.  Fear 
God.     Honor  the  King." 

Koble  words  these  and  advice  well  taken  by  the  Brit- 
ish cohorts.  Throughout  the  war  the  soldiers  fought  a 
clean  fight;  fought  without  looting,  without  disturbing 
the  peaceful  peasants,  without  murder  and  brutality  to 
quiet  non-combatants. 

England  had  entered  the  fray  in  order  to  protect  the 
neutrality  of  Belgium,  a  little  country  which,  in  1831- 
1832  and  1839,  had  become  by  treaty  between  France, 
Prussia  and  Great  Britain  "  an  independent  and  per- 
fectly neutral  state."  Great  Britain  had  promised  that, 
in  case  the  soil  of  Belgium  was  invaded  by  either  a 
French  or  a  Prussian  army,  she  would  coiiperate  with 
the  power  which  had  not  violated  the  territory  of  this 
little  state,  for  its  defense. 

Now,  the  Prussian  army  had  invaded  this  state,  had 
scoffed  at  the  treaty  as  being  "  but  a  scrap  of  paper," 
and,  to  the  exhortation  of  the  King  of  Belgium  to  the 
effect :  "  I  make  a  supreme  appeal  to  the  diplomatic 
intervention  of  your  Majesty's  Government  to  safeguard 
the  integrity  of  Belgium,"  the  British  people  had  sent 
over  their  standing  army,  "  that  contemptible,  little 
British  army,"  with  Sir  Douglas  Haig  in  command  of 
the  first  division. 

The  German  Chancellor,  speaking  in  the  Eeichstag 
on  August  4th,  had  said  "  Gentlemen,  we  are  in  a  state 
of  necessity,  and  necessity  knows  no  law.  Our  troops 
have  occupied  Luxembourg,  and  perhaps  are  already  on 
Belgian  soil.  Gentlemen,  this  is  contrary  to  the  dic- 
tates of  International  Law.     Anybody  who  is  threat- 


SIR  DOUGLAS  HAIG  129 

ened,  as  we  are  threatened,  and  is  fighting  for  his  high- 
est possession,  can  only  have  one  thought  —  how  he  is  to 
hack  his  way  through." 

Advancing  to  meet  the  Germans,  the  English  came 
in  contact  with  the  exultant  troops  at  Mons.  But  the 
Germans  had  too  many  men  for  them,  and,  continually 
enveloping  and  threatening  the  left  flank,  forced  the 
hard-fighting,  "  but  contemptible,"  little  British  army 
to  withdraw.  Haig's  division  had  a  fearful  baptism  of 
fire  but  came  off  in  good  order,  with  the  loss  of  hundreds 
of  men. 

The  Germans  passed  onward,  and,  in  an  attempt  to  get 
to  the  sea,  struggled  again  at  Ypres  for  mastery  of  the 
English  line.  It  was  of  no  avail.  Under  the  mighty 
Teutonic  assault,  the  lines  shook,  but  held,  and  Sir 
Douglas  Haig,  with  the  First  Division,  manned  a  bloody 
breach  with  such  indomitable  pluck  that  they  came  to  be 
called  "  The  Iron  Brigade." 

At  this  time  came  an  event  which  marked  Sir  Douglas 
Haig  as  a  warrior  and  a  hard  rider,  equal  in  ability  to 
turn  a  defeat  into  victory  to  "  Phil  "  Sheridan  of  Win- 
chester fame. 

For  a  whole  day  a  terrible  battle  had  waged  and  the 
Germans  had  been  raining  shells  upon  the  British  posi- 
tion. From  out  the  fierce  barrage  the  Prussian  guard 
arose  and  stormed  the  English  lines.  So  furious  was 
their  onslaught  that  they  broke  through  the  British 
front  and  small  parties  of  troops  in  khaki  were  in  re- 
treat. It  looked  like  a  fearful  rout  for  the  English 
troops ;  and  word  was  brought  to  the  rear  of  this  state  of 
affairs. 


130  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

At  the  moment  —  when  all  seemed  to  be  lost  —  down 
the  road  came  Sir  Douglas  Haig,  galloping  hard  and 
surrounded  by  his  own  Seventeenth  Lancers.  He  was 
as  neat  as  a  pin;  as  well  turned  out  as  upon  a  peace 
parade,  while  shells  screamed  bv  overhead  and  dead  and 
dying  lay  on  every  side.  Reining  in,  he  scanned  the 
wavering  line  with  cool  and  fearless  gaze,  and  pointed 
to  the  enemy,  "  Do  not  let  them  pass !  "  he  said.  The 
Germans  found  a  new  spirit  before  them.  The  men  in 
the  blood-stained  khaki  fought  "with  a  courage  which 
was  invincible,  and  so  enthused  had  they  been  by  their 
commander's  words  that  the  retreat  became  an  ad- 
vance.    Haig  and  his  message  had  saved  the  day. 

I  have  said  that  he  is  called  "  Lucky  Haig  "  and  you 
can  see  that  this  epithet  is  well  applied,  for,  a  few  days 
after  this  ride  of  death,  a  shell  exploded  in  the  midst 
of  his  (]uarters.  ISTearly  every  staif  oflScer  was  either 
killed  or  maimed,  and  as  for  Haig  he  was  out  upon  a  tour 
of  inspection  at  the  time,  so  he,  of  course,  escaped. 

After  the  battle  of  Ypres,  the  Germans  dug  in  and  so 
did  the  English.  There  came  a  fierce  three  years'  strug- 
gle for  supremacy,  which  at  length  has  ended  with  the 
British  troops  pressing  the  Germans  back  all  along  their 
line  from  Holland  to  Valenciennes,  and  in  possession  of 
Mons,  where  they  first  met  the  Germans.  Sir  Douglas 
Haig  w^as  appointed  commander  of  the  British  forces 
after  the  retirement  of  Sir  John  French.  It  was  the 
logical  climax  of  a  military  life,  well  spent  and  well  or- 
dered. 

The  conduct  of  the  war  by  the  new  leader  of  the 
British  armies  has  given  apparent  satisfaction  to  the 


SIR  DOUGLAS  HAIG  131 

English  nation.  He  believed  in  continued  hammering, 
or,  in  wearing  down  the  Germans  bv  constantly  pound- 
ing their  line,  and,  yon  see  the  result !  The  giant  Eng- 
lish army  nibbled  at  and  harrassed  the  Germans  so  per- 
sistently that  eventually  they  were  forced  into  a  great 
retreat,  which  would  have  ended  in  a  rout  had  not  an 
armistice  been  signed. 

The  war  has  been  hard  work  and  the  Commander- 
in-Chief  has  been  the  soul  of  systematic  labor.  Every 
morning  at  nine  o'clock  he  has  been  at  his  desk,  and 
from  then  on  until  the  luncheon  hour  has  been  in  con- 
ference with  his  various  lieutenants  and  assistants. 
Many  miles  behind  the  front,  he  has  been  bound  to 
every  part  of  his  line  by  telephone  and  telegraph.  He 
has  known  what  has  been  going  on  in  every  sector,  and  he 
has  planned,  schemed,  and  devised  the  means  for 
victor)'. 

In  olden  days  the  leader  of  an  army  was  right  among 
his  men;  he  fought  in  their  midst.  Xot  so  to-day. 
Where  King  John  and  Bayard  were  shoulder  to  shoulder 
and  horse  to  horse  with  their  followers,  a  present-day 
general  is  about  twenty  to  twenty-five  miles  in  the  rear 
of  the  line.  When  a  modern  gun  can  shoot  and  kill  at 
twenty-five  miles  it  is  rather  important  that  the  gen- 
eral should  be  to  the  rear,  that  is  unless  he  is  not  thought 
much  of  and  is  expected  to  allow  himself  to  be  shot. 

So  the  only  time  that  you  would  see  Sir  Douglas  Haig 
with,  or  near,  any  of  his  troops,  would  be  in  the  after- 
noon. Promptly  at  four  o'clock  his  horse  would  be 
brought  to  his  headquarters  and  he  would  be  off  for 
a  gallop  down  the  hard  Ereneh  roads.     As  the  trim- 


132  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

looking  Britisher  would  ride  by  there  would  be  many  a 
cheer  for  the  hero  of  Ypres.  Fresh-cheeked,  blue-eyed, 
trim  and  well-groomed,  a  view  of  this  galloping  chief- 
tain was  a  sight  for  the  gods. 

At  night  you  would  find  him  bending  over  a  map 
at  headquarters ;  carefully  studying  the  situation  and 
marking  with  needles  where  there  had  been  an  attack 
or  a  retreat,  the  explosion  of  a  mine,  or  a  wave  of  poison 
gas.  Then  to  bed  would  go  the  British  leader,  who 
commanded  more  men  than  had  ever  before  been  gath- 
ered together  under  the  British  flag.  We  trust  that 
his  dreams  have  been  peaceful,  yet  we  know  that  he 
must  often  have  tossed  and  turned  beneath  the  weight 
of  the  great  responsibility  which  he  carried. 

Cheery,  kindly,  neat  and  sportsmanlike,  the  leader 
of  the  British  armies  is  ever^^  inch  a  gentleman;  and 
when  you  look  at  his  picture,  I  know  that  you  will  be 
delighted  to  see  that  the  vast  armies  of  defense  of  the 
violated  territory  of  Belgium  have  been  led  by  such  a 
clean  and  intelligent  warrior  as  Sir  Douglas  Haig. 

Here's  long  life  and  happiness  to  you,  brave  and  loyal 
soldier !  And  may  you  have  a  far  more  auspicious  fate 
than  that  which  befell  your  august  predecessor.  Kitch- 
ener of  Khartoum ! 


AT  THE  BATTLE  OF  YPRES 

AN  INCIDENT   IN  THE   LIFE  OF  SIR  DOUGLAS   HAIG 

'Twas  the  second  day  at  Ypres,   and  the  shells  were 

raining  fast ; 
The  Huns  were  fighting  fiercely  and  their  levies  here 

were  vast. 
With  gasses  and  explosives  they  had  found  and  struck 

our  lines, 
And  our  dead  were  lying  all  around  in  the  craters  of 

the  mines. 

The  cooks  and  helpers  in  the  rear  had  been  called  up  to 

the  front, 
Each  held  a  spitting  rifle,  they  made  their  pieces  grunt. 
You  could   hear  recoils   a-rattling,   you  could   see  the 

"  Johnsons  "  fall. 
As  the  gray-clad  Hunnish  warriors  came  on  beneath 

the  pall. 

They  had  blood  upon  their  bayonets ;  they  had  murder 

in  their  eyes ; 
And  Von  Hindenburg  was  near  them,  with  his  crowd  of 

belted  spies. 
The  cruel,  brutal  leader  shot  out  his  flabby  chin, 
And  cried  "  Fur  Deutschland,  Kinder !     Mit  bayonets, 

durch  und  in !  " 

Drugged  with  blood  and  powder,  filled  with  hate  and 

lust, 

The  followers  of  Attila  rushed  on  in  mud  and  dust. 

133 


134  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

With  notches  in  their  bayonets ;  with  dum-dums  in  their 

guns, 
They  yelled  out  songs  of  victory  to  the  King  of  all  the 

Huns. 

"  We  are  the  salt  of  all  the  earth,  our  kultur  is  the  best ! 
We'll  carry  it  to  England  and  harbor  it  at  Brest! 
Our  might  is  right !     We  kill  and  bum  to  show  our 

foes  the  way 
To  be  a  kultured  gentleman  in  Berlin  and  Munich  gay !  " 

Egad !  They  rushed  tumultuously.  Just  hundred  mil- 
lions came; 

When  one  went  down  another  rose  to  meet  the  sheeted 
flame. 

They  reached  the  stout  barbed  wire,  it  snapped  and  let 
them  through, 

And  the  blooming,  yelping  Dutchmen,  were  mixed  up 
with  our  crew. 

But  just  then  something  happened.  I  heard  cheering  in 
the  rear. 

And  looking  out  behind  me,  saw  some  horsemen  draw- 
ing near. 

Way  out  in  front  was  Haig,  sir,  a-sitting  stiff  and 
straight ; 

His  arm  a-pointing  forward,  and  his  eyes  were  twin- 
kling hate. 

He  looked  just  like  a  dandy.  Just  fixed  for  dress  pa- 
rade; 


AT  THE  BATTLE  OF  YPRES     135 

And  his  hat  was  in  his  hand,  sir,  one  hand  on  ponunel 

laid. 
He  cried  out :     "  Stop  them !     Comrades !     Don't  let 

the  beggars  through ! 
What  will  they  think  in  England?     What  will  they 

think  of  you  ?  " 

The  line  was  breaking  badly.  But  the  men  seemed 
stirred  with  fire. 

They  parried  and  they  struck  again,  then  rushed  up  to 
the  wire. 

The  Huns  were  swarming  onward,  a  victory  maddened 
pack. 

But  the  men  of  England  held  them  and  sent  them  reel- 
ing back. 

So  give  three  cheers  for  General  Haig,  he's  the  man  who 

led  us  on. 
When  all  seemed  lost  at  Ypres,  and  our  front  had  almost 

gone. 
He's  a  gentleman  and  scholar,  a  soldier  tried  and  true, 
The  man  who  kept  the  German  horde  at  Ypres  from 

breaking  through! 


JUST  AN  UNKNOWN  PEIVATE 

I'm  just  an  unknown  private 

And  I  fight  for  thirty  per, 
I'm  just  an  unknown  private 

And  I  feel  like  a  whipped  cur, 
I  cannot  turn  around  my  head, 

Lest  some  one  says,  "  Look  straight ! 
I  cannot  want  to  go  ahead. 

Lest  some  one  says :     ^'  You  wait !  " 

I'm  truly  patriotic, 

I  really  love  to  fight. 
If  only  they  would  let  me  loose, 

And  let  me  do  it  right ; 
But  the  Sergeant  he  won't  let  me  go. 

And  the  Corporal,  he  says,  "  Hi !  " 
Whene'er  I  want  to  go  away !    — 

I  just  as  well  might  die ! 

I'd  like  to  have  something  to  eat, 

That  is  —  something  which  is  food ; 
I've  had  a  quantity  of  grub. 

But  none  of  it  is  good. 
There's  been  cinders  in  the  coffee, 

And  roaches  in  the  bread. 
A  bee  once  flew  from  out  the  pie 

And  stung  me  in  the  head. 

I'm  just  an  unknown  private; 

But  I'd  like  to  ride  a  horse ; 
136 


JUST  AN  UNKNOWN  PRIVATE     137 

I  only  wish  that  I  could  see 

My  way  to  fame  —  of  course, 
I'd  like  to  be  a  General, 

Pull  wires  in  the  rear, 
Sleep  in  a  real,  true  bedroom, 

And  sup  with  bottled  beer. 


But  I'm  just  a  bloomin'  private, 

No  one  cares  for  me, 
I'm  ordered  here,  I'm  ordered  there, 

I'm  treated  like  a  tree, 
I'm  kicked  out  in  the  mud  and  mire, 

I'm  told  to  "  gee  "  and  "  haw," 
And  the  language  of  our  officers 

Is  sometimes  awful  raw. 


And  no  one  loves  a  private. 

No  one  cares  for  us, 
We  handle  all  the  dirty  work, 

And  all  we  hear  is  —  cuss ! 
We  sure  do  all  the  fighting, 

x\nd  we  sure  bear  all  the  blows, 
But  no  one  cares  for  privates 

E'en  if  we  die  in  rows. 

Oh,  some  day  I'll  be  free  again ! 

Give  me  a  bed  of  down. 
My!  My!  a  real  cup  of  coffee, 

Oat-meal  with  sugar  strewn, 


138  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

A  forty-foot  cigar  —  you  bet  — 
A  beach  wbere  sodas  lurk, 

And  tben  I  will  not  care  a  rap 
If  I've  done  all  the  work  I 


JOHN  J.  PERSHING 

COMMANDER  OF  THE  ARMY  OF 
THE  UNITED  STATES 


JOHN  J.  PERSHING 

COMMANDER  OF  THE  ARMY  OF 
THE  UNITED  STATES 

WHEN  the  United  States  entered  the  great 
world  war  it  did  so  from  pnrely  chivalrous 
motives.  England  and  France  had  borne  the 
brunt  of  furious  fighting  for  four  years  and  their  armies 
had  lost  their  snap,  or  "  pep."  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
upon  the  western  front  the  situation  was  about  that 
which  one  calls  "stalemate"  in  chess:  neither  side, 
Germans  or  Allies,  could  move  either  way.  They  were 
locked  in  each  other's  embraces  in  a  deathly,  vice-like 
grip. 

It  was  for  the  soldiers  of  the  United  States  to  turn 
the  balance  in  favor  of  the  Allies,  and  this  they  were 
intent  upon  because  it  became  evident  to  all  that  it 
required  more  men  than  either  France  or  England  could 
muster  to  make  a  "  clean  up  "  and  to  push  the  German 
hordes  back  upon  their  own  soil.  The  United  States 
army  was,  therefore,  utilized  as  a  third  team,  put  into 
the  scrimmage  when  the  game  between  the  other  two 
teams  was  about  over.  Fresh  men  can  always  beat  an 
exhausted  eleven,  and  so  the  United  States  Army,  full 
of  elan,  well  equipped,  eager  to  do  or  to  die,  turned 
the  balance  in  favor  of  the  Allies  and  helped  very  ma- 
terially to  win  the  day. 

141 


142  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

To  command  the  American  troops  was  selected  Gen- 
eral John  Joseph  Pershing,  familiarly  known  as  "  Black 
Jack/'  who  was  the  son  of  a  section  foreman  on  one  of 
the  western  roads.  His  only  advantageous  heritage  was 
that  of  a  sound  and  healthy  body.  Handicapped  by 
poverty  and  lack  of  early  opportunity,  he  created  a  ca- 
reer by  sheer  force  of  personality  and  will  power. 

When  a  small  boy  the  General  determined  that  he 
wanted  to  lead  the  life  of  a  soldier  and  he  hoped  to  at- 
tain this  ambition.  Born  in  the  Middle  West,  at  La 
Clede,  Missouri,  quite  naturally  his  schooling  there  was 
simple  and  rudimentary,  as  the  facilities  for  education 
were  meager,  and  he  began  to  think  that  he  could  never 
be  a  fighting  man.  Young  Pershing,  however,  learned 
enough  to  secure  his  admission  to  the  Normal  School  at 
Kirksville,  where,  in  order  to  support  himself,  he  taught 
a  class  of  negroes.  He  instructed  these  young  charges 
with  all  the  pains  and  the  patience  that  he  was  to  use 
later  in  the  instruction  of  the  cadets  at  West  Point. 

Just  at  this  time  the  x\ttorneys  were  having  a  great 
deal  of  business  in  the  Middle  West,  so  the  youthful 
teacher  decided  that  he  wanted  to  follow  in  the  steps 
of  Abraham  Lincoln  and  become  a  member  of  the  learned 
profession  of  the  law.  But  there  was  an  opportunity 
offered  for  attaining  a  cadetship  at  West  Point,  and, 
after  taking  the  competitive  examination,  young  Per- 
shing found  himself  chosen  to  learn  the  profession  to 
which  he  had  always  aspired  —  when  not  contemplating 
a  legal  career.  The  Missouri  teacher  and  son  of  a  sec- 
tion-hand boss  now  found  himself  a  'plehe  at  West  Point. 

In  the  bracing  air  of  the  Hudson  Eiver,  the  energetic 


JOHN  J.  PERSHING  143 

Pershing  learned  how  to  be  a  soldier  and  how  to  do 
"  squads  right."  He  also  learned  that  physical  fitness 
was  an  excellent  thing  to  have,  so  that  in  after  years  the 
now  famous  General  has  always  taken  particular  pains 
to  keep  himself  in  good  condition.  He  has  been  a  great 
horse-back  rider,  a  good  fencer,  and  keen  shot  and 
sportsman.  He  first  was  taught  how  to  lead  the  athletic 
life  at  Uncle  Sam's  great  military  preparatory  school. 

Graduating  in  1886,  our  newly-fledged  Lieutenant 
Pershing  was  sent  out  West  where  the  wild  Geronimo, 
the  bloodthirsty  Apache  Chief,  was  murdering  the 
peaceful  settlers  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico.  This 
arrogant  savage  was  followed  across  the  Mexican  border 
and  was  chased  for  miles,  until  he  was  finally  sur- 
rounded and  captured  in  the  mountains.  It  was  the 
same  ground  over  which  Francisco  Villa  was  to  op- 
erate, with  his  Mexican  bandits,  against  the  United 
States  in  1916. 

In  this  campaign  the  young  and  ardent  lieutenant  re- 
ceived his  first  distinction.  He  was  highly  compli- 
mented by  General  Miles  for  marching  his  troop,  with 
its  pack  train,  one  hundred  and  forty-six  miles  in  forty- 
six  hours,  and  for  bringing  in  every  man  and  every 
pack  animal  in  good  condition.  The  same  interest 
which  he  then  displayed  for  the  welfare  of  his  men  he 
now  displays  for  the  welfare  of  the  great  army  under 
his  command. 

Young  Pershing  was  kept  out  on  the  plains  and  had 
a  great  deal  of  experience  with  the  redskins,  both  peace- 
ful and  war-like.  In  1896,  the  Zuni  Indians  became 
obstreperous  and  had  considerable  trouble  with  the  set- 


144  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

tiers  in  the  neighborhood  of  their  reservation.  Per- 
shing happened  to  be  near  at  the  time,  and  when  he 
learned  that  some  cowboys  had  been  imprisoned  by  the 
redskins,  he  hastened  to  their  rescue.  The  Zunis  had 
decided  to  torture  their  prisoners  and  to  have  a  good  time 
while  they  were  doing  it,  but  Lieutenant  Pershing  had 
arrived  just  in  time.  The  cowboys  were  rescued  before 
the  Indians  had  an  opportunity  to  vent  their  wrath  upon 
the  poor  fellows. 

This  incident  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the 
Lieutenant's  superior  officer,  General  Carr,  who  imme- 
diately recommended  him  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  as  an 
officer  "  high  in  his  discretionary  powers."  Yet  the 
ambitious  soldier  was  not  jumped  forward  to  a  Cap- 
taincy at  this  time.  He  had  to  win  his  way  by  slow  and 
gradual  stages,  and  by  still  harder  work. 

The  life  of  the  now  prominent  General  was  practically 
without  incident  until  the  time  of  the  Spanish  war  in 
1898.  At  this  time  he  was  Captain  of  the  9th  Cavalry, 
and  was  sent  immediately  to  Cuba  in  order  to  engage 
in  the  Santiago  campaign.  He  was  at  the  battles  of 
San  Juan  and  of  Santiago,  where  he  showed  such  brav- 
ery under  fire  that  he  was  recommended  for  the  brevet- 
commission  of  Colonel  "  for  personal  gallantry,  untiring 
energy,  and  faithfulness."  Returning  to  the  United 
States  shortly  after  the  surrender  of  the  Spaniards,  he 
was  immediately  dispatched  to  the  Philippine  Islands 
in  order  to  subdue  the  war-like  and  vindictive  Moros, 
a  tribe  which  the  Spaniards  had  not  conquered  in  three 
hundred  years. 

That  Pershing  conducted  himself  well  is  known  to 


JOHN  J.  PERSHING  145 

all.  The  Moro  was  beaten  into  taking  np  "  the  white 
man's  burden,"  and  yet  when  subjugated  they  were 
treated  with  such  kindness  and  fairness  by  the  great 
white  chieftain  that  he  was  made  an  hereditary  ruler 
with  royal  rank  and  power  of  life  and  death  over  the 
natives.  This  title  was  bestowed  upon  him  by  the  Sul- 
tan of  Oato,  who  also  presented  him  with  his  son,  a  boy 
eighteen  years  of  age.  But  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment made  him  Governor  of  the  Islands,  and  we  now 
find  him  busied  in  attempting  to  conciliate  these  people 
whom  Spain  could  never  control. 

The  Moros  were  treated  with  tact,  firmness,  and  fair- 
ness. In  spite  of  all  of  his  kindness,  Captain  Pershing 
would  wage  unrelenting  warfare  against  the  islanders 
whenever  they  rebelled.  His  soldiers  would  chase  them 
through  jungles  and  fever-stricken  swamps  and  would 
allow  them  no  rest,  whenever  their  hearts  turned  bad 
against  the  whites.  Yet,  when  they  were  made  to  be- 
have, no  one  treated  them  with  more  gentleness  or  con- 
sideration than  did  the  future  leader  of  the  American 
army  in  France.  Governor  Pershing  learned  the  native 
language  and  also  the  traditions  and  customs  of  this  is- 
land people.  He  heard  their  grievances,  their  needs, 
and  their  various  troubles.  In  time  the  Moros  appre- 
ciated that  here  was  not  an  enemy  but  a  friend,  and  they 
changed  their  vindictive  hatred  of  the  white  invader 
to  friendliness. 

The  Governor  of  these  fierce  tribesmen  conducted 
himself  in  such  an  able  fashion  that  his  merit  was  rec- 
ognized by  President  Theodore  Roosevelt.  In  1903 
Congress  was  asked  to  enact  legislation  which  would 


146  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

allow  a  promotion  of  Captain  Pershing  to  a  higher  rank, 
without  jumping  him  to  the  position  of  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral. But  Congress  would  not  and  did  not  act,  so  the 
energetic  Eoosevelt  jumped  the  Governor  to  the  Moros 
over  the  heads  of  eight  hundred  and  sixtj-two  officers 
of  grades  senior  to  his,  which  was  the  longest  jump  in 
the  history  of  army  promotions. 

Because  of  his  excellent  conduct  in  the  Moro  cam- 
paign, the  hard-working  soldier  had  thus  received  un- 
solicited promotion,  but  in  addition  to  this  he  bears  the 
unique  distinction  of  being  the  only  army  officer  com- 
plimented by  name  in  the  President's  message  to  Con- 
gress. Of  course  this  compliment  was  paid  him  be- 
cause of  his  excellent  conduct  of  the  Moro  campaign. 

But  other  compliments  were  handed  him,  for,  when 
war  broke  out  between  Eussia  and  Japan,  he  was  se- 
lected as  the  military  observer  for  the  United  States, 
and  still  later,  when  chaos  reigned  in  Mexico,  Pershing 
was  asked  to  control  the  vast  United  States  army  col- 
lected upon  the  border,  and  later  was  ordered  to  head  a 
punitive  expedition  which  penetrated  Mexican  territory. 
The  expedition  was  successful  in  that  it  had  the  desired 
effect :  it  put  a  stop  to  disorder  in  Northern  Mexico,  and 
although  living  in  an  unfertile  and  arid  land,  the  Gen- 
eral succeeded  in  bringing  out  his  army  with  but  few 
deaths  from  disease  and  the  missiles  of  snipers. 

Although  seldom  heard  of  before,  the  name  of  Per- 
shing was  now  upon  every  tongue,  and  he  was  one  of 
the  best  known  soldiers  in  the  United  States.  The  news- 
papers rang  with  the  name  of  the  leader  of  the  Mexican 
Expedition.     The   moving   pictures    showed   numerous 


JOHN    J.    PERSH1N(; 


JOHN  J.  PERSHING  147 

scenes  in  Mexico  and  on  the  border,  in  which  the  erect, 
gray-haired  general  was  to  the  front,  and  the  paragraph 
writers  spoke  now  of  Pershing  and  not  of  Funston,  the 
captnrer  of  Aguinaldo,  who  had  recently  died  of  heart 
failure. 

The  Mexican  problem  was  now  practically  settled,  the 
punitive  expedition  was  withdrawn,  and  the  army  once 
again  marked  time  on  the  border,  while  the  fearful 
European  war  turned  the  once  peaceful  soil  of  France 
into  a  veritable  quagmire  of  blood.  By  diplomacy  and 
evasion,  President  Wilson  endeavored  to  keep  the  United 
States  out  of  war,  but  it  was  of  no  avail.  The  gods 
willed  it  that  the  German  people  would  go  stark,  staring 
mad;  would  disregard  all  laws  of  civilized  warfare,  and 
would  drag  the  United  States  into  the  conflict  by  sheer 
barbarity  and  lack  of  decency  for  civilized  conduct. 

When  Congress  had  admitted  that  a  state  of  war  ex- 
isted with  the  German  Government,  troops  were  imme- 
diately dispatched  to  Paris,  and  from  thence  to  the 
front.  With  them,  as  Commander,  went  Pershing. 
Stern,  square-jawed,  erect,  soldierly-looking,  he  was  a 
splendid  and  fitting  example  of  the  perfect  military  man 
produced  by  the  West  Point  Military  Academy. 

When  asked  to  make  an  address,  he  told  the  French, 
that,  as  the  representative  of  a  Government  which  liked 
to  see  things  done  in  a  business-like  manner,  he  was 
there  to  help  to  win  the  war  as  speedily  as  possible. 
And,  still  later,  he  made  the  remark: 

"  Lafayette,  we  are  here !  " 

He  meant  by  this  that  the  debt  which  the  United 
States  owed  to  France  because  of  the  assistance  given 


148  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

the  struggling  colonies  by  Lafayette  and  Eochambeaii  in 
1775-1776  was  now  to  be  repaid,  and  right  glad  was 
the  United  States  to  repay  that  debt  tenfold.  For 
when  Uncle  Sam  was  in  knee-breeches,  the  French  had 
helped  the  poor  boy  who  was  being  spanked  by  his  big 
brother,  Great  Britain.  Now,  the  little  boy  had  grown 
to  be  a  very  powerful  man  and  the  rich  and  prosperous 
old  fellow  was  all  ready  to  help  out  those  who  had  given 
him  assistance  when  he  was  poor  and  weak.  A  fine 
speech.  General  Pershing,  was  that  you  made,  and  all 
people  are  grateful  to  you  for  expressing  the  chivalrous 
sentiments  of  the  vast  majority  of  those  who  live  in  the 
United  States. 

The  soldiers  of  Anerica  made  a  good  impression. 
They  are  lean,  spare  young  men,  all  athletic  and  quick- 
thinking.  Received  with  tremendous  enthusiasm  by 
the  French,  they  were  soon  able  to  show  what  stuff  they 
were  made  of  on  the  battlefield,  and  went  forward  with 
such  superb  courage  and  elan,  that  a  French  General 
said  that  the  only  fault  he  had  to  find  with  the  Ameri- 
cans was  they  were  too  brave  and  exposed  themselves 
with  a  too  great  recklessness  and  dare-deviltry. 

As  for  the  victories  at  Chateau-Thierry,  Verdun,  and 
the  capture  of  the  St.  Mihiel  Salient  with  ten  thousand 
German  prisoners,  we  cannot  say  that  it  was  Pershing 
himself  who  did  this,  no  —  it  was  the  United  States 
soldiers  who  did  it.  Yet  they  were  well  directed  by 
their  keen-eyed  General,  and  all  acknowledge  that  he 
has  well  represented  the  country  which  dispatched  him 
to  the  scene  of  conflict.  As  for  his  men,  they  fought 
with  a  superb  courage  and  heroism. 


JOHN  J.  PERSHING  149 

Inheriting  a  love  for  sport  from  their  English  fore- 
bears, the  Americans  are  naturally  an  athletic  race. 
Fighting  a  battle  is  like  playing  a  game  of  foot-ball, 
and  it  is  thus  natural  that  the  United  States  soldiers 
took  to  fighting  with  a  zest  that  was  unusual.  The 
Germans,  on  the  other  hand,  are  not  a  sport-loving 
people,  their  interest  in  athletics  being  mainly  directed 
to  gymnastic  exercises.  In  all  of  Germany  there  are 
no  inter-city  games  of  any  variety,  or  any  indulgence 
in  sport  for  sport's  sake  as  in  the  United  States  and  in 
England.  The  Germans  have  been  made  to  become 
soldiers,  and  all  of  their  youthful  activity  which  Amer- 
ican and  English  boys  put  into  sport  is  utilized  by  them 
in  drill  and  military  exercise.  The  Kaiser  and  his 
advisers  made  a  race  of  docile  soldiers  and  not  a  race 
of  sportsmen. 

General  Pershing  is  a  splendid  rider  and  has  always 
excelled  as  a  cavalryman.  He  is  also  a  good  shot  and 
is  fond  of  bird  shooting.  Like  all  Americans,  he  has  a 
keen  sense  of  humor  and  delights  in  a  good  joke,  even 
at  his  own  expense.  No  one  played  more  practical 
jokes  than  he  did  when  at  West  Point,  and  he  has 
never  lost  his  delight  in  the  comic  side  of  life.  There 
is  a  keen  twinkle  in  his  clear  eye  which  denotes  the 
man  of  humor,  and  no  one  can  laugh  with  more  gusto 
than  can  this  leader  of  the  greatest  army  which  Uncle 
Sam  has  ever  put  into  the  field. 

When  his  massive  army  of  American  troops  arrived 
near  the  firing-line  in  France  there  was  a  crisis  in  the 
German  offensive,  so,  upon  March  the  28th,  General 
Pershing  placed  at  the  disposal  of  Marshal  Foch,  who 


150  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

had  been  agreed  upon  as  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
Allied  armies,  all  of  the  forces  of  the  United  States,  to 
be  used  by  him  as  he  might  decide.  The  first  American 
division  was,  therefore,  transferred  from  the  Toul  sector 
to  a  position  in  reserve  at  Chaumont  en  Vexin.  Ten 
American  divisions  were  sent  to  the  British  army  area, 
where  they  were  trained  and  equipped. 

On  April  26th  the  1st  Division  went  into  the  firing 
line  on  the  Montdidier  sector  on  the  Plcardy  battle- 
front.  The  Americans,  confident  of  their  training, 
were  eager  for  a  brush  with  the  Germans.  On  the 
morning  of  ^May  the  26th  this  division  attacked  the 
commanding  German  position,  in  front,  taking  the  town 
of  Cantigny  with  splendid  dash  and  spirit.  Here  they 
held  firmly  against  the  Prussian  artillery.  This  bril- 
liant action  had  an  electrical  effect  upon  the  Allies,  for 
it  demonstrated  the  excellent  fighting  qualities  of  the 
Yanks,  and  it  showed  that  the  vaunted  Prussian  troops 
were  not  invincible. 

After  this  battle  the  Germans  made  a  mighty  thrust 
at  Paris,  which  was  their  last  and  most  strenuous  effort 
to  reach  the  goal  of  their  ambition.  Aiming  at  Chateau- 
Thierry,  division  after  division  was  hurled  upon  the 
French  lines  which  stood  in  the  path  of  the  German  in- 
vasion. 

Every  available  man  was  placed  at  Marshal  Foch's 
disposal,  and  the  .'M  American  Division,  which  had  just 
come  from  their  preliminary  training  in  the  trenches, 
was  hun-ied  to  the  ]Marne  River.  Its  machine-gun 
battalions  preceded  the  other  units,  and,  starting  for 
the  firing  line,  were  soon  in  active  engagement  with 


JAMES    G.    HARBOARD 


JOHN  J.  PERSHING  151 

the  oncoming  German  divisions.  Opposite  Chateau- 
Thierry  these  troops  successfully  held  the  bridge-head, 
inflicting  terrible  slaughter  upon  the  Prussian  host. 

The  brunt  of  the  fighting,  during  the  early  part  of 
this  affair,  was  done  by  the  Brigade  of  U.  S.  Marines, 
commanded  by  Major  General  James  G.  Harboard,  U. 
S.  A.,  under  whom  —  as  regimental  commanders  — 
were  Colonels  Neville  and  Catlin.  The  Major-General 
commanding  was  appointed  Assistant  Chief  of  Staff  in 
France,  May  15th,  1917,  and  had  a  fine  record  as  a 
soldier,  from  the  time  that  he  had  graduated  from  the 
Infantry  and  Cavalry  school  in  1895,  to  the  present 
moment.  He  had  served  in  the  Spanish  War  with  dis- 
tinction and,  although  a  volunteer,  had  been  mustered 
out  and  appointed  a  1st  Lieutenant  of  the  10th  U.  S. 
cavalry,  July  1st,  1898.  He  had  served  as  Assistant 
Chief  of  the  Philippine  Constabulary,  with  the  rank 
of  Colonel  from  August  18th,  1903,  to  January  1st, 
1914.  He  was  to  receive  the  Legion  of  Honor  for  his 
gallant  defense  of  Chateau-Thierry. 

Colonels  Catlin  and  Neville  had  both  graduated  in 
the  same  class  at  the  U.  S.  Naval  Academy  —  that  of 
1886  —  and  had  both  had  varied  service  under  the«Stars 
and  Stripes.  The  former,  now  a  Brigadier  General, 
had  commanded  the  Marine  guard  of  the  Maine,  when 
blown  up  in  Havarfa  harbor,  prior  to  the  Spanish- Amer- 
ican war.  He  had  swum  ashore  and  had  been  promoted 
to  be  Captain,  shortly  afterwards.  He  had  served  in 
the  army  of  occupation  in  Cuba,  had  received  a  Medal 
of  Honor  for  gallant  conduct  —  under  fire  —  at  Vera 
Cruz  in  April,  1914,  had  been  sent  to  France  in  charge 


152  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

of  the  6th  Regiment  of  Marines,  and,  when  directing  the 
advance  of  the  lighting  men  of  the  sea,  was  badly 
wounded,  on  June  6th,  1917. 

Colonel  Neville  —  now  a  Brigadier  General  —  had 
been  appointed  a  1st  Lieutenant  in  the  Marine  Corps, 
July  1st,  189*2,  had  served  in  the  marine  battalion  in 
Cuba,  and,  on  June  13th,  1898,  had  been  made 
Captain  by  Brevet,  for  conspicuous  conduct  at  the  battle 
of  Guantanamo,  Cuba.  He  had  served  in  China,  during 
the  Boxer  rebellion,  had  been  made  a  Major,  Decem- 
ber 9th,  1904 ;  was  in  the  Cuban  army  of  occupation  in 
1906,  was  in  charge  of  a  brigade  of  Marines  in  Panama, 
in  1910,  was  a  Lieutenant-Colonel  at  the  battle  of  Vera 
Cruz  in  April,  1914,  and  had  been  given  a  Medal  of 
Honor  for  conspicuous  courage  at  this  Mexican  affair, 
April  21st,  1914.  For  two  years  he  had  been  in  charge 
of  the  American  Legation  Guard  in  China,  and  from 
that  country  he  had  been  sent  to  France  in  December, 
1917,  where  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  5th  Regi- 
ment of  Marines.  For  his  gallant  and  meritorious 
services  to  France  he  was  awarded  the  Croix  de  Guerre 
by  the  French  Government. 

As  the  Marine  Brigade  was  the  first  to  strike  the 
enemy  in  this  portentous  battle,  and,  as  it  suffered  most 
heavily  in  losses,  I  will  therefore  devote  myself  to  a 
description  of  the  attack,  based  on  the  very  excellent 
letter  of  Major  Frank  E.  Evans  to  Major  General 
George  Barnett,  Commandant  of  the  U.  S.  Marine 
Corps.  This  is  in  no  way  to  detract  from  the  honor  due 
the  entire  American  fighting  force  in  this  sector,  for 
all  should  be  lauded  for  their  daring  and  determination; 


JOHN  J.  PERSHING  153 

a  determination  which  seemed  to  be  inspired  by  the 
spirit  of  the  old  crusaders,  and  which  has  fortunately 
ended  in  a  victory  for  the  Allied  arms. 

The  Marines  had  never  before  faced  such  odds,  nor 
had  they  been  confronted  with  such  a  crisis,  for,  were 
the  Germans  not  stopped,  they  would  soon  be  in  Paris, 
and  it  would  be  dark  for  the  Allied  cause.  All  the 
officers  and  men  felt  this,  and  determined  to  give  a  good 
account  of  themselves.  They  left  their  camions  near 
Paris  to  march  to  the  sound  of  the  guns.  On  the  way 
to  the  front  farm-wagons  lumbered  along  with  chickens 
and  geese  swung  beneath  in  coops,  filled  with  what  the 
retreating  farmers  could  gather  together,  within,  and  by 
their  sides  walked  cattle  driven  by  boys  of  nine  or  ten 
years  of  age.  The  mothers  of  these  children  crept 
along  —  weeping  bitterly  at  the  change  of  fortune  which 
had  forced  them  to  leave  their  happy  homes  —  while 
little  tots  trotted  past  near  their  mother's  skirts.  As 
the  Marines  advanced,  the  horror  of  war  became  en- 
graved in  their  very  souls,  their  eyes  seemed  to  burn 
with  a  crusading  fire,  and,  as  an  old  lady  with  snow- 
white  hair  came  to  view,  seated  like  a  noblesse  upon 
the  top  of  piled-up  boxes  and  mattresses,  in  the  best 
farm-cart,  a  mighty  shout  went  up  for,  "  The  Grand 
Duchess,  may  she  again  be  living  in  her  devastated 
home."  The  town  of  Meaux  was  crowded  with 
refugees;  everywhere  was  confusion,  disorder,  retreat; 
the  flotsam  and  jetsam  of  war  before  the  descendants 
of  Attila  the  Hun. 

The  road  was  a  living  mass  of  men,  women,  children, 
soldiers,     horses,     teams,     bales,     boxes  —  confusion. 


154  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

French  dragoons  trotted  by  with  their  lances  at  rest 
with  officers  as  trim  as  if  they  had  just  left  the  bar- 
racks; trains  of  ambulances  lumbered  past,  guns  of  all 
sizes  —  from  the  75's  to  the  210's  —  cars  carrying  staff 
officers  whizzed  by  in  a  trail  of  saffron-colored  dust, 
which  coated  men,  wagons,  horses,  with  a  gray  pall  of 
mummified  dirt. 

Late  in  the  evening  the  Marine  Brigade  swept  to 
the  right,  defiled  from  the  road  in  the  direction  of  the 
river  Marne,  and  bivouacked  on  the  roadside  or  in  the 
fields.  They  were  seven  kilometers  back  of  where  they 
were  to  advance  into  line  of  battle,  and,  although  orders 
were  found  to  go  into  action  that  evening,  the  men  were 
so  sadly  in  need  of  rest  that  it  was  decided  to  camp 
for  the  night.  The  French  then  determined  to  let  the 
Americans  see  what  it  was  to  fight  the  Boche  next  after- 
noon. The  Poilus  were  hard  pressed  in  front  and  they 
needed  assistance  badly ;  numbers  of  fugitives  streamed 
to  the  rear,  crying  out :  "  Look  out,  Yanks,  the  Boche 
can  fight  like  wild  men !  Look  out,  Yanks.  You  will 
get  it  in  the  morning !  " 

It  was  the  first  day  of  June,  there  was  death  and 
fire  in  the  valley  of  the  slow-winding  river  Marne; 
French  videttes  came  into  camp  saying  that  the  Boche 
had  fought  them  with  machine  guns  and  hand  grenades 
—  they  were  advancing  with  great  elan  and  courage, 
and  that  their  best  troops  —  the  Prussian  Guard  — 
were  in  front.  On  the  following  day  the  French  began 
to  retreat,  tired  out  with  incessant  fighting  and  greatly 
outnumbered,  and  that  afternoon  —  by  a  prearranged 
plan  —  they  dropped  back,  passed  through  the  line  of 


JOHN  J.  PERSHING  155 

the  Americans,  and  thus  made  the  Marines  the  front 
line.  On  the  right  were  the  French.  With  one  com- 
pany, only,  as  a  regimental  reserve,  the  Soldiers  of  the 
Sea  awaited  the  battle  with  calm  determination. 

At  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  Germans  attacked 
in  force.  Across  a  field  which  looked  as  flat  and  green 
as  a  base-ball  diamond  they  came  swinging  on,  in  two 
thin  gray  columns.  Shoulder  to  shoulder,  rank  on 
rank,  in  silence  and  without  confusion,  the  Kaiser's 
men  faced  a  withering  fire  from  machine-guns  and  rifles 
of  the  Americans  and  French.  Overhead  burst  thin 
clouds  from  shrapnel, —  the  gunners  did  not  seem  to 
have  the  proper  range  —  then  they  found  it,  and  huge 
gaps  began  to  appear  in  the  gray  lines.  It  looked  as 
if  wide  patches  of  white  daisies  had  begun  to  grow 
upon  the  green  fields  where  those  ]:)ull-doggish  columns 
were  moving.  The  white  patches  from  the  bursting 
shrapnel  would  roll  away,  and  great  holes  could  be  seen 
in  the  gray  masses  of  Germans.  A  hail  of  rifle-fire 
was  being  poured  into  them  —  no  human  beings  could 
ever  withstand  such  a  rain  of  shot  and  shell.  The 
columns  staggered  —  stood  still  —  ha!  They  broke! 
Hurray!  they  were  retreating. 

An  aeroplane  was  hovering  in  the  air,  watching  the 
battle  from  a  safe  distance,  and,  when  the  French  and 
American  gunners  got  the  range  of  the  Hun  lines,  the 
operator  signaled  down  "  Bravo."  As  the  Boche  broke 
cover  and  ran  to  the  woods  for  protection,  they  could 
be  followed  by  ripples  in  the  green  wheat  through  which 
they  coursed  in  their  flight.  Once  in  the  woods  they 
hurried  from  view  —  a  mighty  shout  went  up  from  the 


156  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

thirsty  throats  of  the  Marines  —  first  blood  had  been  in 
favor  of  the  men  from  over  the  sea,  and,  as  the  cheer 
v^elled  over  the  vrheat,  a  thrush  caroled  a  song  from  a 
linden  tree. 

The  French  crov^ded  around  in  order  to  congratulate 
the  Americans,  for,  that  men  should  fire  deliberately  and 
use  their  sights  to  adjust  the  range,  was  beyond  their 
experience.  The  rifle-fire  had  had  a  telling  effect  upon 
the  Germans,  for  it  was  something  that  they  had  not 
counted  on.  They  had  steadily  pushed  back  the  weak- 
ened French  —  they  expected  to  get  to  Paris  —  when 
they  had  run  into  this  stone-wall  defense.  When  they 
attacked,  the  Germans  did  not  know  that  the  Americans 
were  in  the  front  line,  and  they  were  astonished  at  the 
way  in  which  the  defense  had  stiffened  up ;  they  realized 
that  their  days  of  triumphant  progress  were  to  be  no 
more. 

It  was  only  the  beginning  —  the  real  fire-works  broke 
on  the  sixth  day  of  June  —  when  it  was  decided  to  make 
a  general  advance  upon  the  front  of  the  entire  Brigade, 
in  order  to  recover  territory  and  straighten  out  the  lines. 
The  23d  Infantry  had  been  brought  up  to  reinforce  the 
Marines,  and  these  fresh  troops  had  been  placed  upon 
the  right  flank.  In  front  of  the  eager  troops  was  the 
Bois  de  Belleau  (Wood  of  Belleau),  and  the  little  vil- 
lage of  Bouresches.  It  was  determined  to  attack  at  5 
p.  M.  which  would  seem  to  be  late  in  most  countries,  but, 
owing  to  the  long  twilight  in  France,  this  was  an  excel- 
lent moment  to  advance.  The  artillery  preparation  was 
short,  and,  before  the  Yanks  pressed  forward,  one  of  the 
platoons  of  the  machine-gun  company  laid  down  a  bar- 


JOHN  J.  PERSHING  157 

rage.  When  all  was  ready,  the  men  leaped  from  their 
trenches  and  went  over  the  top. 

The  woods  were  fairly  alive  with  machine-guns,  and, 
as  the  boys  rushed  forward,  these  spat  a  deadly  fire  into 
their  ranks.  On  the  left,  the  Germans  fought  stub- 
bornly, doggedly;  they  mowed  down  many  a  youthful 
and  energetic  American,  yet,  about  9  p.  m,,  or  after  four 
hours  of  the  struggle  —  a  runner  came  in  with  word  that 
the  left  had  advanced  as  far  as  the  right,  and  that  the 
worst  machine-gun  nests  were  surrounded  upon  a  rocky 
plateau.  Word  was  also  brought  in  that  Colonel  Catlin 
had  been  wounded,  and  one  IMarine  officer  ejaculated: 

'^  Too  bad !  Too  bad !  The  bottom  of  the  war  has 
dropped  out!  " 

The  Colonel  was  standing  up  in  a  machine-gun  pit 
with  his  glasses  raised  when  a  sniper  drilled  him  clean 
through  the  right  of  his  chest.  He  fell,  was  carried  to 
the  rear,  and  moved  back  to  a  dressing  station.  As 
Captain  Laspierre  went  over  to  report  to  Captain  Fe- 
land,  a  shell  burst  near  him  and  he  was  shocked  and 
gassed.  Thus  two  marine  officei's  were  done  away  with 
in  a  few  moments.  The  removal  of  Catlin  was  a  great 
loss,  as  he  was  a  man  familiar  with  all  that  had  to  be 
done,  had  a  complete  grasp  of  military  situations,  and 
was  looked  up  to  by  both  officers  and  men. 

The  fighting  now  was  furious,  and,  as  shells  exploded 
above  the  dark  woodland,  both  Germans  and  Americans 
grappled  with  each  other  in  a  deadly  embrace.  As 
darkness  began  to  fall,  word  came  to  Marine  Headquar- 
ters that  the  village  of  Bouresches  had  been  captured ; 
that  the  Americans  —  racing  through  a  terrific  barrage 


158  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

—  bad  entered  the  streets,  where,  after  desperate  street 
fighting,  thej  had  driven  off  the  tenacious  Germans. 
Prisoners  began  to  stream  back  of  the  lines  —  grinning 

—  as  if  delighted  to  be  taken,  and,  with  their  hands  in 
the  air,  murmured :  "  Kamerad  !  Kamerad !  "  As 
darkness  fell,  the  fire  from  spitting  guns  reddened  the 
skies,  and  dull  roaring  came  from  the  exploding  shells. 

Meanwhile,  spitting  telephone  and  telegraph  wires 
sent  back  word  of  what  the  American  boys  were  doing, 
and,  far  to  the  rear,  the  anxious  Parisians,  learning  of 
the  smashing  advance  by  our  men,  shrugged  their 
shoulders,  smiled  —  even  1-aughed  —  saying  to  each 
other :  "  Voila  !  What  did  I  tell  you  of  these  Ameri- 
cans. They  are  true  fighters.  The  aid  which  we  gave 
them  with  Lafayette  will  now  be  doubly  repaid."  And 
far,  far,  away,  in  the  fresh,  new  land  of  America,  the 
newsboys  called  the  EXTRAS,  and  the  eager  purchasers 
read  how  the  Marin^^s  were  stemming  the  torrent  at 
Belleau  Wood.  Men  and  women  gathered  in  crowds  — 
silently  read  the  news,  with  drawn  faces,  anxiously 
awaiting  the  still  later  dispatches,  including  the  casualty 
list. 

The  fighting  went  on  next  day,  and  dawn  saw  Ameri- 
can and  German  in  another  furious  embrace.  Machine- 
gnns  sp'at,  shrapnel  screeched,  big  guns  boomed,  but  on, 
on  went  the  Yanks,  on,  on,  right  through  the  hail  of 
lead  and  over  the  German  trenches.  So  fierce  was  the 
attack  that  the  Soldiers  of  the  Sea  lost  nearly  their  en- 
tire force  —  of  eight  thousand  engaged,  all  but  two  thou- 
sand were  either  killed,  captured,  or  wounded.  Pris- 
oners streamed  through  the  French  and  American  lines. 


JOHN  J.  PERSHING  159 

One  Marine  officer,  Timberman,  charged  a  machine- 
gun  nest  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  and  sent  in  seven- 
teen prisoners.  Meanwhile,  word  came  back  to  send 
up  ammunition,  s-o  a  truck  raced  down  the  road  for 
Bouresches,  guided  by  Lieutenant  W.  B.  Moore  —  the 
Captain  of  the  Princeton  track  team,  and  half-back  of 
the  foot-ball  eleven.  A  fierce  counter  attack  upon  the 
town  was  repelled,  and,  as  the  Boche  sullenly  retired  in 
the  direction  of  Germany,  they  were  greeted  by  victo- 
rious cheering  from  those  who  had  survived  this  holo- 
caust. 

The  Americans  had  captured  Belleau  Wood,  Chateau- 
Thierry,  and  the  smoking  village  of  Bouresches. 
Grimly  they  watched  the  puffing  lines  of  German  fire, 
and  grimly  they  took  account  of  their  many  wounded, 
while  struggling  onward  came  the  great  guns  to  shell 
the  Boche  earthworks;  and  Pershing,  far  in  the  rear, 
yet  vigilant,  aggressive,  confident  that  his  boys  would 
live  up  to  their  reputations  of  dare-devilish  fighters,  re- 
ceived the  warm  congratulations  of  the  French.  His 
boys  had  well  sustained  the  athletic  supremacy  which 
they  had  always  won  for  the  old  flag  in  athletic  con- 
tests at  the  Olympic  games.  They  had  shown  them- 
selves to  be  as  competent  to  wage  war  as  they  had  been 
to  run  the  quarter  mile. 

The  Boche  had  had  the  fight  knocked  out  of  him  and 
he  admitted  it.  The  artillery  had  simply  pulverized  the 
German  earthworks  and  stone  defenses.  The  last  draft 
of  prisoners  taken  had  been  cut  off  from  supplies  for 
three  days  by  the  incessant  and  rapid  fire  of  the  Yankee 
gunners.     The  prisoners  varied  in  size:  some  being  fine 


160  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

big  chaps  —  apparently  retired  farmers  —  but  others  be- 
ing undersized  and  weak-looking,  many  of  them  very 
young. 

At  first  the  Germans  thought  that  they  were  op- 
posed by  Canadians,  but  this  illusion  was  dispelled,  the 
last  lot  of  captives  saying  that  they  knew  the  Ameri- 
cans to  have  about  seven  hundred  thousand  men,  and 
that  they  did  not  wish  to  fight  them,  for  the  Yanks  gave 
them  no  rest,  and  their  artillery  punished  them  ter- 
ribly. Many  diaries  were  taken  from  both  the  dead  and 
living,  and  these  started  off  with  "  Gott  Mit  Uns,"  and 
boasted  of  what  the  Germans  were  going  to  do  to  the 
Americans.  Then  they  proceeded  to  tell  of  lying  in 
the  woods  under  a  hell  of  steel,  and  they  spoke  of  the 
big,  brave  Americans  who  seemed  to  know  no  fear. 
The  papers  would  usually  end  with  the  statements  that 
they  knew  themselves  to  be  defeated,  for,  with  the  vast 
horde  of  fresh  Americans  in  the  line,  it  would  be  impos- 
sible for  them  to  keep  up  their  drive. 

As  the  Germans  indulged  in  gloomy  forebodings  of 
coming  disaster  one  Yankee  officer  tipped  this  message 
to  the  rear: 

"  The  chickens  have  arrived  and  they  are  all  scratch- 
ing." 

Not  only  were  they  scratching,  but  the  cocks  were 
soon  to  be  all  crowing.  The  five  days  of  fighting  had 
resulted  in  the  capture  of  the  village  of  Barzy-le-Sac  by 
the  First  Division,  who  also  had  gained  the  heights  above 
Soissons.  The  Second  Division  took  Beau  Benaire 
farm  and  Viceizy,  and,  upon  the  second  day  of  their  ad- 
vance,   took    Tigny.     Both    Divisions    captured    seven 


JOHN  J.  PERSHING  161 

thousand  prisoners  and  over  one  hundred  pieces  of  ar- 
tillery. 

As  the  Prussians  were  being  driven  back  in  this  sec- 
tor, to  the  south  —  at  St.  Mihiel  —  combined  French, 
English,  and  American  land  and  air  forces  started  an- 
other big  drive.  At  5  a.  m.  on  September  12th,  seven 
American  Divisions  advanced,  assisted  by  a  limited 
number  of  tanks,  preceding  this  attack  by  four  hours  of 
artillery  preparation. 

As  at  Chateau-Thierry  and  Belleau  Wood,  the  Ameri- 
cans here  fought  like  demons.  Preceded  by  groups  of 
wire-cutters  and  other  scouts,  armed  with  bangalore  tor- 
pedoes, they  went  through  the  successive  bands  of 
barbed-wire  which  protected  the  German  front-line  and 
supporting  trenches  in  irresistible  waves  and  on 
scheduled  time.  Half  hidden  by  fog,  the  gallant  Yanks 
quickly  routed  the  enemy,  already  demoralized  by  the 
furious  artillery  fire.  At  the  cost  of  only  seven  thou- 
sand casualties,  mostly  light,  the  Americans  captured 
ten  thousand  prisoners,  four  hundred  and  forty-three 
guns,  a  great  quantity  of  war  material,  and  released 
the  inhabitants  of  many  villages  from  the  grasp  of  the 
terrible  invader.  The  battle-line  was  soon  established 
in  a  position  to  threaten  Metz, 

General  Pershing,  in  his  official  report,  says  that : 
"  The  signal  success  of  the  American  First  Army,  in 
its  first  offensive,  was  of  prime  importance.  The  Allies 
found  that  they  had  a  fonnidable  army  to  aid  them,  and 
the  enemy  learned  formally  that  he  had  one  to  reckon 
with." 

In  fact,  the  great  victorv  at  the  St.  Mihiel  salient  had 


162  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

prepared  the  way  for  the  supreme  effort  of  the  Allies  to 
win  a  conclusive  victory.  The  American  army  moved 
forward  at  once  to  its  greatest  battle  —  the  light  at  the 
river  Meuse. 

This  action  began  on  the  night  of  September  25th, 
when  the  Americans  took  the  place  of  the  wearied 
French  on  this  long  sector.  The  attack  opened  on  Sep- 
tember 26th,  and  the  Americans  drove  through  all  the 
wire  entanglements  in  their  path,  across  No  Man's  Land, 
and  took  all  of  the  enemy's  front-line  positions.  They 
pushed  steadily  onward,  and  eastward.  On  November 
6th,  a  Division  of  the  1st  Corps  reached  a  point  on  the 
Meuse  opposite  Sedan,  the  strategic  goal  for  which  the 
French  Commander,  General  Foch,  had  aimed.  Now, 
the  Yanks  had  cut  the  main  line  of  communications  of 
the  Kaiser's  mighty  forces,  and  nothing  but  an  armis- 
tice or  a  surrender,  could  save  the  German  army  from 
complete  disaster. 

Forty  German  divisions  had  faced  the  overseas  fight- 
ers in  these  battles  near  the  river  Meuse.  Between 
September  26th  and  November  6th  the  Americans  took 
twenty-six  thousand  and  fifty-nine  prisoners  and  four 
hundred  and  sixty-eight  guns.  They  had  put  a  final 
nail  into  the  coffin  of  the  Kaiser  and  his  armies  of 
would-be  world  conquerors  by  their  aggressive  advance. 

And  that  General  Pershing  is  appreciative  of  the 
valor  of  his  noble  "  boys  "  may  be  seen  from  the  fol- 
lowing : 

"  I  pay  the  supreme  tribute  to  our  officers  and  soldiers 
of  the  line.  When  1  think  of  their  heroism,  their  pa- 
tience under  hardships,  their  unflinching  spirit  of  of- 


JOHN  J.  PERSHING  163 

fensive  action,  I  am  filled  with  emotiou  which  I  am 
unable  to  express.  Their  deeds  are  immortal,  and  they 
have  earned  the  eternal  gratitude  of  their  country." 

So,  General  Pershing,  we  salute  you !  Chosen  to 
command  an  army  of  honorable  deliverers,  who  have 
been  truthfully  spoken  of  as  Pershing's  Crusaders,  you 
have  seen  that  your  men  fought  fairly,  conducted  them- 
selves cleanly,  and  have  dealt  with  innocent  non-com- 
batants with  chivalrous  courtesy.  Arriving  in  stricken 
France  at  the  propitious  moment,  your  troops,  by  their 
dash  and  spirit,  have  broken  the  back-bone  of  the  invad- 
ing Boche,  have  driven  the  Germans  from  Alsace  and 
Lorraine,  and  are  now  policing  this  territory,  once  the 
property  of  France,  and  soon  to  be  returned  to  its  former 
owner,  as  is  the  wish  of  the  French  people,  and  the 
desire  of  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  border  country. 

Conducting  yourself  as  a  man  of  high  moral  and 
intellectual  courage,  you  have  set  a  splendid  example 
for  future  officers  to  emulate,  and  yon  have  brought  both 
credit  and  distinction  to  the  flau  of  the  United  States, 
which  has  never  been  unfurled  in  battle  for  an  ignoble 
cause,  and  which  will  always,  we  trust,  be  the  symbol  of 
justice,  equality,  and  fair  dealing  to  all  people,  whether 
they  be  strong  and  prosperous,  or  weak  and  poverty- 
stricken. 


PERSHING'S  CRUSADERS 

The  eagle's  tail  was  twitching, 

And  the  eagle's  eyes  shone  fire 
For  the  Kaiser's  men  had  sunk  a  ship 

That  roused  his  native  ire. 
The  ship  was  filled  with  helpless  babes, 

With  women  weak  and  frail, 
The  torpedo's  beak  had  breached  the  keel 

That  bore  the  Royal  mail. 

The  eagle  snapped  its  pointed  bill, 

And  screamed  a  cry  of  hate, 
Which  ran  from  Maine  to  Texas, 

From  the  Race  to  Golden  Gate. 
The  eagle  soared  into  the  blue 

And  cried :     "  My  children,  hear ! 
Ye  must  seize  your  sword  of  battle, 

For  the  day  of  wrath  is  near." 

And  the  cry  reechoed  'cross  the  land 

And  stirred  the  peaceful  men. 
Who  toiled  o'er  desks  and  farmland. 

O'er  vales  and  mountain  glen. 
It  started  from  their  slumbers 

The  sons  of  North  and  South, 
Who'd  bared  their  breasts  in  ancient  strife 

And  dared  the  cannon's  mouth. 

"  Rouse  ye  —  O  men  of  Dixie  !  " 

Cried  the  eagle  from  the  sky, 
164 


PERSHING'S  CRUSADERS       165 

"  Rouse  ye  —  O  men  of  Oregon ! 

Of  the  Rocky  Mountains  high ! 
Rouse  ye  —  O  sons  of  Florida ! 

Of  the  Everglade's  lagoon ! 
Come  forth,  O  men  of  Iowa ! 

You'll  all  be  needed  soon ! 

"  Come  forth,  ye  men  of  Wall  Street ! 

Ye  sons  of  chance  and  gain. 
Come  forth,  you  mercenary  souls! 

For  your  own  kin  has  been  slain. 
Beneath  the  deep  Atlantic  waves, 

Your  sons  have  sunk  to  sleep, 
Struck  by  a  foul,  unlooked-for  blow, 

Unchallenged  from  the  deep ! 

"  Come  forth  from  wide  Nebraska's  plains ! 

From  Colorado's  heights. 
Come  forth  from  Mississippi's  vales ! 

Dakota's  blazing  lights, 
Where  forge  and  stamp-mill  furnish  gold, 

Where  sluice-box  bars  the  stream, 
In  bold  Alaska's  rushing  rills, 

Where  yellow  pebbles  gleam. 

"  Come  now,  O  sturdy  sons  of  toil ! 

To  aid  poor,  bleeding  France, 
For  on  her  soil  the  foe  has  come. 

Has  led  a  Devil's  dance. 
A  wild  debauch  of  butchery, 

A  fierce  melee  of  blood. 


166  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

Affainst  her  ancient  cities  has 

Been  loosed  the  War-King's  flood." 

And  the  solemn  tread  of  tramping  feet 

Could  be  heard  from  sea  to  sea. 
As  the  mighty  hosts  were  gathered 

Which  were  pledged  to  make  men  free, 
And  the  gray-green  ships  plied  east  and  west, 

And  the  twinkling  bar-lights  gleamed. 
While  the  hosts  of  freedom  sped  to  France, 

Where  the  endless  war-trains  streamed. 

No  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion  was  there 

With  battle-axe  and  mail, 
To  lead  these  fresh  crusaders  througli 

The  belching,  leaden  hail, 
No  Knight  in  golden  armor 

Was  there  to  cheer  them  on, 
As  they  marched  forth  into  battle, — 

A  silent,  eager  throng. 

Instead,  a  square-jawed  man  of  Fate, 

Who  had  seen  the  redskins  quail. 
Who  had  chased  the  grim  Apaches 

Where  the  timber  vermin  wail, 
Who  had  fought  o'er  fever-ridden  swamps 

In  distant  tropic  lands. 
Who  had  supped  with  Igoroto  Chiefs 

Where  the  bending  palm-tree  stands. 

For  these  were  new  Crusaders : 
'No  crusade  half  so  good 


PERSHING'S  CRUSADERS       167 

As  that  which  Pershing  led  to  France 

To  stem  the  German  flood. 
For  the  eagle's  sons  had  answered 

The  call  of  France  for  aid. 
And  all  the  world  will  testify 

To  the  noble  part  they  played. 


HENRI  P.  PETAIN 

DEFENDER  OF  VERDUIT 


HENRI  P.  PETAIN 

DEFENDER  OF  VERDUN 

TWO  hundred  thousand  of  the  Kaiser's  picked  men 
lie  in  their  last  sleep  at  Verdun ;  a  tribute  to  the 
valor  of  the  French  soldiers,  who  said :  "  They 
shall  not  pass."  Over  two  hundred  tons  of  copper  have 
been  aimed  at  Verdun  —  only  to  leave  the  fortress  with 
the  Tricolor  floating  over  it.  And  above  the  fallen 
timber,  the  wrecked  stone  work,  the  broken  and  shattered 
windows,  rises  the  name  of  the  heroic  defender,  General 
Petain. 

This  general,  like  Marshal  Foch,  was  little  known 
prior  to  the  great  war.  If  he  had  his  way,  he  would  be 
little  kno\vn  to-day,  for  like  Foch  and  Haig  —  he  shuns 
the  limelight.  When  Ferdinand  of  Bulgaria  decorated 
him  for  his  lectures,  he  put  his  decoration  into  his 
pocket.  He  has  persistently  refused  to  be  photographed 
since  the  war  began,  and,  when  urged  to  place  his 
lectures  at  the  Ecole  de  Guerre  into  book  form,  he  said, 
with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders,  "  What's  the  use  ?  " 

The  battle  of  the  Marne  in  the  first  German  drive, 
had  proved  to  the  Germans  that  Paris  could  not  be 
reached  by  that  route,  so  to  the  Crown  Prince  was  in- 
trusted the  task  of  attacking  the  French  line  at  Verdun, 
of  overwhelming  it,  and  of  piercing  the  defense.  With 
the  army  under  his  command  he  hoped  to  press  on  to 

171 


172  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

Paris.  His  high  hopes  were  not  to  be  realized,  for  in 
the  way  stood  those  French  who  were  not  "  degenerates," 
as  the  Germans  were  wont  to  call  them  prior  to  the 
great  war. 

The  second  battle  opened  with  considerable  success 
for  the  Prussian  army,  and,  realizing  that  the  French 
forces  were  not  handled  in  the  proper  manner,  General 
Joffre  sent  Petain  to  command  the  line.  From  the  very 
moment  that  he  arrived,  the  most  colossal  effort  of  the 
Germans  since  the  battle  of  the  Marne  was  completely 
checked.  Then,  when  victory  was  certain  and  Paris 
seemed  to  be  secure,  everyone  began  to  ask :  "  Who  is 
this  Petain?  " 

When  the  war  broke  out  the  defender  of  Verdun  was 
but  a  Colonel  of  Infantry  —  the  Thirty-third  of  Arras. 
He  was  known  to  be  a  silent  man,  who  shunned  both 
photographers  and  reviewers.  To  his  soldiers  he  had 
often  said:  "  My  watchwords  are  patience,  confidence, 
independence,  persistence,  energy,  tact,  speed,  concen- 
tration. Utilize  all  of  these  and  you  cannot  fail  to  hold 
your  own  with  your  opponent." 

The  general  is  an  excellent  horseman  and  can  fence 
equally  well  with  both  hands.  He  has  made  it  a  point 
to  always  keep  himself  in  fine  physical  condition, 
and  has  endeavored  to  make  himself  a  perfect  officer. 
He  has  said  that  he  has  minutely  studied  over  five  hun- 
dred tactical  and  strategic  encounters  and  that  every 
officer  — to  be  a  good  officer  —  should  do  likewise. 

In  lecturing  to  his  men,  Petain  would  often  remark: 
"  A  troop  becomes  invincible  when  prepared  in  advance 
to  sacrifice  itself,  for  it  prepares,  in  advance,  to  make 


HENRI  P.   PETAIN 


I 


HENRI  P.  PETAIN  173 

the  enemy  pay  the  dearest  possible  price  for  its  sacri- 
fice." He  also  believes  in  speed  and  quickness  upon  the 
march.  "  The  constant  acceleration  of  speed  is  one  of 
the  laws  of  progress,"  he  has  often  remarked.  "If  you 
have  a  horse,  use  it !  Don't  just  sit  on  it  and  let  it  carry 
you  around.  Get  away  from  men  at  times  and  be  your 
own  scout." 

Someone  asked  a  French  officer  one  day  why  it  was 
that  Petain  was  only  a  colonel  (not  a  well-kno\vn  colonel, 
like  Roosevelt)  when  the  war  broke  out.  To  this  was 
given  the  following  answer,  which  speaks  for  itself: 

"  Because  he  has  a  horror  of  advertising ;  because  he 
hates  politicians ;  because  he  is  a  man  of  uncompromis- 
ing opinions,  and  he  has  made  enemies ;  because  he  be- 
lieves that  he  is  right  and  that  the  men  w^ho  differ  from 
him  are  w^rong ;  because  while  other  officers  —  whom  I 
could  mention  —  w^ere  busy  with  the  fanforade  of 
brass  buttons  and  ceremonies  of  garrison  life,  and  were 
bent  upon  getting  their  names  and  photographs  in  the 
papers,  Petain  w-as  only  occupied  in  one  thing,  training 
his  officers  and  training  himself.  When  an  editor  asked 
him  for  some  account  of  his  military  career,  he  sent 
back  three  dates,  and  that  was  all.  He  has  steadilv 
refused  to  be  photographed  since  the  war;  the  only 
photograph  of  him  being  in  the  Thirty-third  Regiment 
book.  He  is  tactician,  strategist,  but,  above  all  and  to 
the  last  ounce  of  him,  a  fighter." 

In  those  dark  days,  just  prior  to  the  battle  of  the 
Marne,  when  all  France  was  hurrying  to  the  front, 
Petain  was  promoted  to  be  General  of  Division  and  was 
sent  to  rally  and  reorganize  the  remnants  of  the  Third 


174  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

Corps,  which  —  in  bad  disorder  —  were  in  retreat  be- 
fore the  advancing  Huns.  The  general  took  charge 
with  little  to  do,  and,  sitting  on  his  horse  beside  a  bridge 
over  which  the  soldiers  were  retreating,  made  each  one 
march  calmly  past  him  and  look  up  to  see  what  a  grim 
fellow  was  leading  them.  In  his  hand  he  held  a  pistol 
which  he  gripped  firmly  and  occasionally  shook  in  the 
direction  of  the  oncoming  invaders. 

The  men  were  apparently  imbued  with  a  new  spirit, 
for  on  September  21st  was  issued  an  army  order  to  the 
effect: 

"  Petain  —  General  Commanding  the  Sixth  Division 
of  Infantry  —  has,  by  his  example,  his  tenacity,  his 
calmness  under  fire,  his  incessant  foresight,  his  continual 
intervention  at  the  right  moment,  obtained  from  his  di- 
vision during  fourteen  days  of  consecutive  fighting,  a 
magnificent  effort,  resisting  repeated  attacks  night  and 
day,  and  the  fourteenth  day,  in  spite  of  his  losses,  re- 
pelling a  final,  very  violent  assault." 

A  bit  later,  with  General  Rangle  de  Carey,  he  was 
told  by  General  Castelnau  to  break  the  German  front 
in  Champagne.  The  French  here  fought  with  tenacity 
and  fury,  as  only  those  who  are  defending  their  homes 
could  do.  It  was  Petain's  army  which  dealt  a  stubborn 
blow,  which  took  hundreds  of  cannons,  and  thousands  of 
prisoners. 

With  these  two  successes  to  his  credit,  "  Papa " 
Joffre  did  well  when  he  did  not  hesitate  to  promote  this 
stern,  faithful  soldier  to  be  the  leader  of  the  defenders 
of  Verdun.  "  Nach  Verdun  —  Paris !  "  the  Crown 
Prince  is  said  to  have  remarked,  as  he  raised  a  glass  of 


MAURICE    P.    SERRAIL 


HENRI  P.  PETAIN  175 

stolen  champagne  on  high.  But  General  Petain  is  said 
to  have  murmured :  "  Nach  Verdun  —  Metz,  Sedan, 
and  then  —  Berlin !  " 

The  Geimans  meant  to  take  Verdun  when  they  made 
the  first  big  drive  upon  Paris.  They  did  all  that  they 
could  to  approach  it  and  to  besiege  it.  The  Third 
German  Army  under  the  Crown  Prince  fought  inces- 
santly with  the  main  object  of  isolating,  of  investing, 
and  of  taking  Verdun.  Assisted  by  his  counselor,  Von 
Eichhorn,  the  Crown  Prince  did  all  in  his  power  to 
overwhelm  and  destroy  the  Third  French  Army  under 
General  Serrail. 

It  was  September  8th  and  9th,  1915.  General  Foch 
was  hurling  back  the  Germans  on  the  Marne,  but  many 
more  Germans  under  the  Crown  Prince  —  the  3d,  5th 
and  16th,  1st  Bavarian,  and  two  Reserve  Corps  —  were 
approaching  Verdun,  the  eastern  pivot  of  the  French 
armies  between  Toul  and  Belfort.  Here  is  where  the 
most  important  railway  lines  of  northeastern  France 
converge,  and  here  is  where  the  Germans  would  have 
found  a  great  arsenal  and  a  huge  amount  of  supplies. 
Its  capture  would  have  very  materially  altered  the 
course  of  the  war. 

The  French  under  Serrail  had  ten  infantry  divisions 

—  the  Crown  Prince  fifteen.  Outnumbered,  the 
French  had  to  retreat,  and  General  Serrail  had  a  diffi- 
cult and  thankless  task  to  perform.  As  he  fell  back 
through  the  broken  and  wooded  country  of  the  Argonne 

—  so  as  not  to  lose  connection  with  the  other  French 
armies  on  the  left  —  he  hnd  to  protect  Verdun  from 
!N"orth,  East,  and  West.     The  Crown  Prince  had  such 


176  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

great  numbers  that  he  could  deploy  around  his  opponent 
and  could  suiTound  and  drive  into  Verdun  a  part  of 
the  French  army.     This  he  did. 

To  the  east  of  Verdun  German  reserve  divisions  made 
their  way,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Meuse,  with  the 
object  of  crossing  the  river  at  St.  Mihiel,  and  joining 
the  German  force  on  the  left  bank.  This  would  have 
divided  Serrail's  army,  and  such  a  success  would  have 
heavily  counter-balanced  the  success  which  the  French 
were  then  having  in  the  Marne. 

On  September  8th,  the  army  of  the  gallant  Serrail 
reached  the  limit  of  its  retirement,  and,  on  the  day 
following,  the  French  counter-attacked  along  the  entire 
front.  Two  cavalry  corps  were  sent,  meanwhile,  to 
check  the  progress  of  the  Germans,  who  had  succeeded 
in  crossing  the  Meuse,  near  St.  Mihiel. 

The  French  fought  valiantly  and  success  was  theirs, 
even  as  at  the  ^farne.  At  St.  Mihiel  the  Germans  were 
driven  back  with  heavy  losses  across  the  Meuse ;  on  the 
left,  the  3d  German  army  corps  —  which  was  endeavor- 
ing to  reach  Bar  le  Due  —  was  thrown  back,  after  a 
murderous  struggle.  In  the  center  the  16th  German 
army  corps  lost  eleven  batteries,  destroyed  by  the  French 
75's.     Verdun  was  saved  for  the  time  being. 

The  Germans  retreated  to  the  Aisne  and  intrenched, 
leaving  many  prisoners,  guns,  and  other  booty  behind 
them,  but  Verdun  was  not  to  be  left  alone.  In  Febru- 
ary, 1916,  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  sanguinary 
battles  of  the  war  began  before  the  ill-fated  town.  In 
the  presence  of  the  Kaiser,  the  army  of  the  Crown 
Prince  started  a  determined  and  desperate  drive  against 


HENRI  P.  PETAIX  177 

the  great  French  fortress.  For  ten  days  tlie  battle 
raged  on  the  plains,  in  the  forests,  and  on  the  hills  before 
Verdun,  and  the  loss  of  life,  on  both  sides,  was  some- 
thing appalling. 

By  February  2Gth,  after  six  days  of  continuous  fight- 
ing, the  Germans  had  driven  the  French  line  along 
several  rnilf-s  of  front,  bad  occupied  several  villages  a 
few  miles  north  of  Verdun,  had  hurled  the  French  from 
a  peninsula  of  the  Meuse,  formed  by  a  bend  in  the  river, 
about  six  miles  from  the  city,  and  had  carried  by  storm 
thr-  outlying  fort  of  Douaumont,  at  the  northeast  comer 
of  the  Verdun  fortifications.  Here  the  triumphant  ad- 
vance was  halted  by  the  French  in  a  series  of  brilliant 
counter-attacks,  and  the  German  offensive  died  down  un- 
til March  1st,  when  it  was  again  renewed.  The  losses 
to  the  German  army,  up  to  this  time,  had  been  about 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  men,  including 
between  forty  thousand  and  fifty  thousand  killed. 

Heavy  reinforcements  had  been  brought  up  by  the 
Germans,  and  it  is  estimated  that  the  troops  engaged  in 
the  attack  numbered  at  least  five  hundred  thousand,  as- 
sisted by  all  tlie  artillf-rv  u:-f-d  In  the  Serbian  campaign 
and  part  of  that  forrrif-rly  employed  on  the  Russian 
front. 

Here  is  where  Petain  was  called  upon  to  lead  the 
French  army  of  defense;  Serrail,  as  we  have  seen,  hav- 
ing done  a  masterful  piece  of  work  in  eluding  and 
outwitting  the  Germans  in  their  advance  of  the  former 
year.  The  battle  lastr^d  from  February  the  21st  to 
April  the  15th.  There  was  a  slight  rest,  and  then  the 
offensive  was   assumed   again,  the  attacks   on   Verdun 


178  FAMOUS  GENEEALS 

continuing  until  June  10th.  But  the  French  stood  first 
under  an  avalanche  of  shot  and  shell,  and  drove  back 
wave  after  wave  of  Teutonic  infantry.  Here  was  the 
fiercest  fighting  of  the  war,  the  Germans  losing  fully 
three  hundred  thousand  men  in  killed,  wounded,  and 
prisoners;  the  French  perhaps  three-quarters  of  that 
number,  and  the  British  one  hundred  thousand. 

Finally,  on  October  24th  the  French  took  the  village 
and  Fort  of  Douamont;  also  Thiaumont,  the  Haudro- 
mont  quarries,  La  Carlette  Wood,  and  the  trenches 
along  a  four-mile  front  to  a  depth  of  two  miles.  The 
ground  retaken  was  the  same  that  the  Crown  Prince's 
army  had  required  two  months  of  hard  fighting  to 
capture. 

On  the  24th  four  thousand  German  prisoners  were 
taken,  and,  on  the  day  following,  Petain's  men  began  to 
encircle  Fort  Vaux,  the  only  one  of  the  outer  fortifica- 
tions which  remained  in  German  hands.  The  German 
attempts  to  regain  lost  ground  were  fruitless  and  four 
of  their  separate  attacks  were  beaten  back.  By  the 
first  of  ]!^ovember  the  French  had  taken  seven  thousand 
prisoners. 

Flushed,  with  victory,  on  ^N'ovember  4th  the  French 
began  the  attempt  to  take  the  village  of  Vaux,  held  by 
the  Crown  Prince,  and  gained  a  foothold  in  the  shot- 
riddled  town.  Next  day  the  entire  village  was  captured 
and  also  that  of  Damloup.  This  closed  the  furious 
affair. 

The  long  and  bloody  struggle  for  Verdun  thus  ap- 
parently ended,  although  artillery  duels  still  continued 
at  varying  intervals.     The  French   had   sho^vn  an   in- 


HENRI  P.  PETAIN  179 

domitable  courage  in  its  defense  —  first  under  Serrail 
in  1915  —  again  under  Petain  in  continuous  fighting 
from  Februai-y  to  November,  191 G.  The  laurels  for 
this  prolonged  and  bitter  struggle  rested  entirely  with 
the  French ;  and  riglit  nobly  they  had  fought  the  Prus- 
sian war  machine  to  a  standstill.  Well  might  the  popu- 
lace of  Paris  cry  vociferously:  "  Vive  la  France! 
Vive  Petain! " 

Petain  alone  did  not  win  the  great  fight,  it  was  the 
French  themselves ;  for  no  one  man  —  no  matter  what 
his  personal  attributes'  —  could  ever  have  enthused  his 
troops  to  the  proper  point  of  sacrifice  that  was  necessary 
for  the  defense  of  the  gi'im  fortress.  Modern  warfare 
was  here  seen  in  its  panoply  of  terror.  The  town,  the 
farms,  the  countryside  were  transformed  into  a  vast 
scene  of  ruin  and  desolation,  while  many  a  poor  soldier 
went  completely  insane  from  the  ghastly  horrors  of  the 
battle.  So,  to  the  cry  which  is  now  heard  'round  the 
world  —  "Vive  le  General  Petain!"  —  let  us  add  an- 
other vociferous  chorus  —  "Vive  le  Poilu! — Hurrah 
for  the  brave  soldiers  of  la  Belle  France!  " 


VERDUN 

Grim  city  on  the  winding  Meuse, 

Proud  in  ruins,  bleak  and  stern ; 

Thy  frowning  battlements  of  old, 

Lie  prostrate  —  grass  and  fern 

Are   trampled,    torn    'neath   hobnailed  boots, 

While  o'er  the  vale  the  brown  owl  hoots, 

And  cries  in  mournful,  wistful  notes : 

''  Where  are  the  cheers  from  Gallic  throats. 

Where  are  the  legions,  rank  on  rank. 

The  pride  of  Prussia?     Where  the  clank 

Of  ivar-Uke  steel?     O'er  all  a  hush! 

I  thought  that  nought  would  stem  their  rush!  " 

Grim  city,  with  your  shattered  towers, 
Where  once  pealed  merrily  the  bells; 
The  flag  of  France  still  floats  above. 
While  hark !     I  hear  th'  exultant  yells 
Of  val'rous  French.     They  cry  and  sing, 
And  from  their  windows  banners  fling, 
And  shout  with  loud,  resounding  cheers: 
"  Where  are  the  Huns  iriih  evil  leers. 
Who  boasted  that  they'd  take  our  land? 
Where  is  that  Kaiser's  mailed  hand? 
Crushed  by  the  pluck  of  the  valiant  few! 
Crushed  by  the  grit  of  the  men  in  blue." 

Hail  city!     Stricken,  battered,  shorn 
Of  all  your  ancient  splendid  art. 
180 


VERDUN  181 

Your  name  for  all  time  is  revered, 

By  those  who  love  a  hero's  part. 

Ancient  battlements!     Stand  in  glory! 

Stand  among  the  great  in  story ! 

A  requiem  our  brass-band  plays : 

"  City  blessed  for  all  days; 

Holy  city  of  Verdun, 

Where  at  last  we  stopped  the  Hun; 

With  Troy  and  Carthage  tahe  thy  place. 

Sacrificed  to  save  thy  race." 


ARMANDO  DIAZ 

COMMAI^DER  OF  THE  VICTORIOUS 
ARMIES  OF  ITALY 


AEMANDO  DIAZ 

COMMANDER  OF  THE  VICTORIOUS 
ARMIES  OF  ITALY 

WHEN  Germany  began  her  attack  upon  France 
the  Italians  were  neutral.  But  in  a  short 
time  these  people,  who  had  at  one  time  gov- 
erned all  of  Southern  Europe,  threw  their  allegiance 
to  the  side  of  the  Allies  and  entered  into  the  war  with 
all  the  might  which  they  possessed.  Their  differences 
with  Austria-Hungary  dated  back  from  ancient  times 
and  were  mainly  because  of  territorial  aggressions  upon 
the  part  of  the  Dual  Monarchy. 

When  Lord  Byron  visited  Northern  Italy  in  1816, 
and  established  his  residence  in  Venice,  he  was  a  keen 
observer  of  the  conditions  in  the  midst  of  which  he 
lived.  Like  all  Englishmen,  he  loved  liberty,  but  about 
him  he  saw  only  tyranny  and  oppression.  He  pictured 
the  brutality  of  the  Austrian  domination  of  northern 
Italy  in  these  lines : 

"  An  Emperor  tramples  where  an  Emperor  knelt. 
Kingdoms  are  shrunk  to  provinces,  and  chains  clank 
over  sceptered  cities." 

The  great  poet  was  disgusted  with  what  he  saw,  and 
two  years  later  wrote  the  following  words  from  Ravenna 
—  in  the  Papal  States  —  where  Austrian  influence  was 
supreme : 

"•  Of  the  state  of  things  it  would  be  difficult  and  not 

185 


186  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

very  prudent  to  speak  at  large,  the  Huns  opening  all 
letters.  I  wonder  if  they  can  read  them  when  they 
open  them?  If  so,  they  may  see,  in  my  most  legible 
hand,  that  I  think  them  scoundrels  and  barbarians,  their 
Emperor  a  fool,  and  themselves  more  fools  than  he ;  all 
of  which  they  may  send  to  Vienna  for  anything  I  care. 
They  have  got  themselves  masters  of  the  Papal  police 
and  are  bullying  away ;  but  some  day  or  other  they  will 
pay  for  it  all.  It  may  not  be  very  soon  —  but  I  sup- 
pose Providence  will  get  tired  of  them  at  last,  and 
show  that  God  is  not  an  Austrian." 

The  famous  poet  had  the  correct  idea.  The  day  of 
reckoning  for  the  Austrian  oppressors  of  poor  Italy  was 
delayed,  but  it  had  to  come  at  last,  and  it  remained  for 
General  Diaz  with  his  army  to  free  northern  Italy  from 
the  invader  and  destroyer  of  Italian  liberty. 

Lord  Palmerston,  a  prominent  British  statesman,  had 
as  great  a  sympathy  with  the  oppressed  Italians  as  had 
Lord  Bryon.  Here  is  what  he  said,  as  far  back  as  the 
year  1849 : 

"  The  Austrian  Government  knows  no  method  of 
administration  but  what  consists  in  flogging,  imprison- 
ing, and  shooting.  The  Austrians  know  no  argument 
but  force.  As  to  working  upon  their  feelings  of  gener- 
osity and  gentlemanlikeness,  that  is  out  of  the  question. 
The  real  fact  is  —  the  Austrians  have  no  business  in 
Italy  at  all  and  have  no  real  right  to  be  there.  The 
right  they  have  is  founded  upon  force  of  arms  and 
the  treaty  of  Vienna.  The  treaty  of  Vienna  they  them- 
selves set  at  naught  when  they  took  possession  of  Cracow. 
They  cannot  claim  the  treaty  when  it  suits  their  purpose, 


ARMANDO  DIAZ  187 

and  at  the  same  time  when  it  suits  their  purpose  they 
reject  it.  Austria  has  never  possessed  Italy  as  part  of 
her  Empire,  but  has  always  held  it  as  a  conquered  ter- 
ritory. There  has  been  no  mixture  of  races.  The  only 
Austrians  have  been  the  troops  and  the  cure  officers. 
She  has  governed  as  you  govern  a  garrison  town,  and 
her  rule  has  always  been  hateful." 

In  the  time  of  Napoleon  the  First,  Austria  was  Great 
Britain's  ally,  but  not  so  in  1914.  In  1859  Count  Buol, 
an  Austrian  leader,  said  to  the  British  Minister  at 
Vienna :  "  You  have  your  ideas  of  liberty,  of  consti- 
tutional government,  of  religion,  all  in  opposition  to 
ours  —  but  you  are  with  us.  We  were  your  allies 
against  j^apoleon  I,  we  have  the  same  political  interests ; 
we  have  mutual  friends  and  mutual  enemies,  on  that 
terrain  we  meet." 

In  1914  the  German  horrors  in  Belgium  stirred  the 
hearts  of  the  Italians  even  as  they  did  those  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States.  The  Italian  population 
heard  —  at  the  same  time  —  a  great  cry  from  the  north- 
ern provinces  of  the  peninsula,  which  begged  to  be 
redeemed  from  the  crushing  yoke  of  Austrian  domina- 
tion. The  philosophy  of  the  Austro-Germans  was  that 
whosoever  possesses  the  necessary  strength  to  subjugate 
others  is  also  entitled  to  do  so  without  committing  any 
injustice.  The  Italians,  like  the  Americans,  realized 
that  people  who  had  such  a  philosophy  must  be  humbled 
to  the  dust  by  means  of  force  before  they  could  be  made 
to  treat  others  as  they  wished  to  be  themselves  treated. 
Stimulated  by  such  reasoning  and  reasons,  Italy  entered 
the  war. 


188  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

Eeinforced  by  well-trained  Prussian  regiments,  the 
Austrian  soldiers  swept  down  from  the  north  to  conquer 
and  ravish  Italy  as  the  Huns  had  done  in  the  time  of 
Attila,  and  the  Goths  and  Vandals  in  later  years.  At 
first  they  were  successful,  even  as  the  Prussians  were 
successful  in  France  and  in  Belgium.  For  forty  years 
the  Prussians  had  been  preparing  for  "  Der  Tag  "  and 
a  forty-year  military  preparation  is  bound  to  bring 
splendid  results  at  first.  Yet  after  the  Italians  had 
fought  for  a  time,  they  rallied  to  the  attack  with  such 
force  that  the  Austrian  armies  were  overwhelmingly  de- 
feated. Italy,  therefore,  played  a  very  important  role 
as  a  decisive  factor  in  the  war. 

On  August  2d,  1914,  three  days  before  England  de- 
clared war  upon  Germany,  the  Italian  Government  de- 
cided upon  neutrality. 

This  news  was  immediately  communicated  to  the 
Italian  Charge  d'Affaires  at  Paris,  as  the  Italian  Am- 
bassador was  absent.  The  telegram  arrived  at  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  Without  delaying  an  instant, 
the  Charge  dAffaires  went  to  see  Monsieur  Viviani, 
the  President  of  the  French  Council,  and  came  to  his 
room.  When  he  entered,  the  President  turned  pale  and 
started  backwards,  feeling  sure  that  only  the  decision  of 
Italy  to  throw  in  her  lot  with  Germany  would  have 
caused  this  Italian  diplomat  to  come  to  see  him  at  that 
early  hour.  But  when  he  had  read  the  telegram,  Vi- 
viani immediately  began  to  shout.     Why  this  action  ? 

In  less  than  half  an  hour  Viviani  had  ordered  the 
mobilization  —  north  of  Paris  —  of  almost  a  million 
men  whom  France  would  otherwise  have  been  obliged 


ARMANDO  DIAZ  189 

to  keep  upon  her  eastern  and  southern  frontier  to  pro- 
tect herself  from  possible  attack  on  the  part  of  Italy. 
These  millions  of  men  stopped  the  German  advance, 
won  the  great  battle  of  the  Marne,  and  thus  saved  France 
from  being  crushed  underneath  the  cruel  heel  of  Prus- 
sian militarism. 

Thus  Italy  may  be  said  to  have  saved  France,  because 
of  her  attitude  of  neutrality. 

General  Diaz,  who  commanded  the  Italian  army  in 
the  final  campaign  of  the  gi-eat  world  war,  has  grown 
up  with,  and  in,  the  Italian  army.  Like  Petain  and 
Foch,  his  modesty  is  his  chief  characteristic,  unless  you 
take  into  consideration  his  love  of  hard  work,  which  is 
also  a  strong  attribute  of  character.  He  is  strong  of 
body,  vigorous  of  mind,  and  keenly  intelligent.  A  fine 
horseman  and  swordsman,  none  can  hold  their  own 
better  at  manly  sport  than  the  General  of  the  victorious 
Italian  troops. 

With  over  a  milllion  men  under  arms,  Austria 
launched  her  offensive.  Her  soldiers  advanced  toward 
Venice,  crossed  the  Piave,  and  here  matters  looked  badly 
for  the  Italians.  This  was  on  June  15th,  1918.  But 
a  general  retreat  before  the  Italian  counter-attacks  be- 
gan just  a  week  later,  which  rapidly  developed,  at  some 
points,  into  a  rout.  Soon  a  jubilant  dispatch  from 
Rome  announced :  "  The  enemy  has  been  beaten  back 
across  the  Piave  from  Montello  to  the  sea  "  ;  and  General 
Diaz,  himself,  reported:  "A  great  victory,  with  the 
enemy  repulsed  at  all  points  with  very  heavy  losses  and 
with  his  '  pride  broken.'  " 

Austria  lost  a  great  number  of  men.     According  to 


190  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

the  Italian  estimates  they  were  nearly  two  hundred 
thousand,  including  forty-live  thousand  prisoners  and  a 
great  quantity  of  guns  and  ammunition.  Italy's  entire 
losses  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners  —  according  to 
a  semi-official  dispatch  from  Rome,  was  only  forty  thou- 
sand, although  Vienna  extravagantly  claimed  that  num- 
ber of  prisoners  alone,  and  put  the  total  Italian  casual- 
ties at  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  for  the  first  ten 
days  of  the  battle.  Yet  the  fact  remained  that  —  strik- 
ing with  her  greatest  military  strength,  after  six  months 
of  preparation, —  Austria  was  hurled  back  in  disastrous 
defeat  on  a  hundred  mile  front.  Austria  had  promised 
her  soldiers  that  this  would  be  the  last  stroke  to  put 
Italy  out  of  the  war,  but  the  gigantic  offensive  met 
with  no  such  result. 

As  for  General  Diaz,  it  cannot  be  said  that  he  en- 
joyed his  victory,  for  although  accustomed  to  the  evil 
sights  of  battle,  so  many  of  his  brave  soldiers  perished, 
that  he  felt  a  great  sorrow  instead  of  a  great  jubilation. 
Born  in  Naples,  October  4th,  1861,  of  an  old  Spanish 
family  which  had  emigrated  to  Italy  with  Charles  the 
Third  in  the  18th  Century,  this  warrior  has  the  blood 
of  military  heroes  coursing  in  his  veins.  His  father 
was  Colonel  Ludovico  Diaz,  of  the  Royal  Naval  En- 
gineers, and  for  several  years  a  director  in  the  ship- 
yards of  Naples,  Leghorn,  and  Venice.  The  Colonel 
married  Baroness  Irene  Ceconi,  and  had  four  children : 
Signora  Ludovica  Morelli,  wife  of  Colonel  Mauricio 
Morelli ;  Maria,  widow  of  a  Monsieur  de  Rosa ;  Cheva- 
lier Cicorgio  Diaz,  Royal  Prosecutor  in  Perugia,  and 
Armando   Diaz,   the   General-in-Chief   of   the   Italian 


ARMANDO    DIAZ 


ARMANDO  DIAZ  191 

forces.  The  estimable  Colonel  Diaz  died  when  young, 
and  his  four  children  were  educated  by  Baron  Luigi 
Ceconi,  brother  of  Signora  Diaz. 

Young  Armando  Diaz  had  a  youth  similar  to  that 
of  most  Italian  boys.  He  grew  up  rather  wildly  until 
he  was  sent  to  the  College  of  Annunziatella  at  Naples  — 
the  oldest  military  institution  in  all  of  Italy.  But  he 
did  not  remain  here,  and  in  1878  entered  the  military 
Academy  at  Turin.  He  was  graduated  as  a  Second 
Lieutenant  of  Artillery  in  1881. 

Italy  was  peaceful  at  the  time  so  the  young  soldier 
saw  no  active  service.  He  served  for  several  years  in 
the  10th  Regiment  of  Artillery,  and  in  1889  became 
Captain  of  the  First  Regiment.  He  then  entered  the 
War  School  at  Turin,  and,  after  two  years  of  study, 
joined  the  General  Staff.  He  was  promoted  to  the 
position  of  Colonel  in  1911. 

Shortly  after  this  he  saw  real  fighting,  for  Italy  had 
a  war  with  the  Turks,  upon  the  northern  coast  of  Africa. 
The  cause  of  this  war  was,  of  course,  territorial  expan- 
sion, both  people  —  Turks  and  Italians  —  desiring  a 
piece  of  African  soil  as  a  colonial  empire.  In  the 
Libyan  War  —  so  called  —  Colonel  Diaz  was  prominent 
in  the  famous  battle  of  Zara,  where,  although  badly 
wounded,  he  remained  on  the  firing  line  until  the  end  of 
the  fighting.  This  victory  succeeded  in  gaining  for  the 
Italians  that  for  which  they  strove,  and  the  Turks  had 
to  relinquish  their  hold  upon  this  particular  part  of 
African  soil. 

Colonel  Diaz  saw  no  more  active  service  until  1914, 
when  he  was  appointed  Chief  of  the  Secretary's  Ofiice 


192  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

of  General  Pollio  of  the  Italian  General  Staff.  Pro- 
moted to  be  Major  General  in  the  same  year,  he  was 
appointed  to  be  Commandant  of  the  Siena  brigade,  and 
later  was  made  Commandant  on  the  Staff  of  Duke  a' 
Aosta's  Army.  He  served  here  until  Italy  joined  the 
Allies  in  warfare  against  the  central  powers. 

In  1916,  as  Lieutenant  General,  this  now  famous 
soldier  was  placed  in  command  of  a  division,  and  this 
body  of  troops  fought  with  so  much  courage  that  they 
were  mentioned  several  times  for  bravery  in  the  heroic 
fight  on  the  Caiso.  In  June,  1916,  General  Cadorna 
gave  General  Diaz  command  of  the  28d  Army  Corps. 
In  November,  1917,  he  was  appointed  Generalissimo  of 
the  Italian  armies,  which  post  he  was  holding  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  great  conflict. 

General  Diaz  married  Signora  Sarah  De  Rosa  Mira- 
belli,  granddaughter  of  Count  Guiseppe  Mirabelli,  First 
Ptesident  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Xaples.  He  has 
three  children:  Marcel io,  now  fifteen  years  of  age  (in 
1918)  ;  Anna,  aged  twelve,  and  Irene,  aged  ten. 

The  Italians,  under  this  able  soldier,  fought  for  their 
natural  rights.  Nearly  five  million  soldiers,  perfectly 
armed  and  equipped  for  the  most  difficult  of  campaigns, 
cooperated  with  the  English,  French,  and  Americans  to 
hurl  back  the  Prussians  and  Austro-IIungarians. 
Wherever  their  soldiers  advanced  they  constructed 
superb  roads,  aqueducts,  and  hospitals,  which  aroused 
even  the  admiration  of  the  enemy.  When,  in  the  early 
stages  of  the  war,  the  Italian  fleet  saved  the  Serbian 
army,  which  Austria  had  driven  out  of  their  own  coun- 
try, together  with  the  civix  population  which  foUowed 


ARMANDO  DIAZ  193 

it,  the  Italian  troops  did  not  hesitate  to  succor  these 
helpless  people.  They  were  literally  walking  skeletons, 
dying  of  hunger,  ill  with  various  diseases.  The  Italians 
treated  them  generously ;  washed  them,  fed  them, 
clothed  them.  These  prisoners  were  so  grateful  to  their 
deliverers  that,  as  a  tribute  to  Italy,  they  constructed  a 
stone  monument  to  Dante. 

The  great  victory  won  by  General  Diaz  and  his  men, 
sustained  by  a  united  people,  who  have  borne  the 
financial  burdens  of  the  war  without  a  complaint,  should 
secure  for  Italy  its  lost  provinces  in  the  north.  Italy 
requires  the  completion  of  the  work  of  her  King  Victor 
Emmanuel,  or  a  union  of  all  the  component  parts  of  the 
nation. 

Italy  should,  furthermore,  obtain  commercial  outlets 
in  the  Adriatic  sea  which  have  heretofore  been  held  by 
the  Austrians.  Greece  is  in  no  way  threatened  by 
Italy,  and  she  can  peacefully  enjoy  the  possession  of  that 
which  she  acquired  in  the  second  Balkan  war,  provided 
that  she  respects  the  independence  of  Albania  and  the 
essential  strategic  interests  of  the  Italians  in  the  Adri- 
atic. 

Thus  —  at  the  close  of  her  successful  campaign  — 
the  world  looks  on  at  a  united  Italian  people,  chastened 
by  war,  yet  secure  in  their  possessions  of  land,  and  of 
a  population  which  should  have  belonged  to  them  for 
many  years. 

So,  we  can  all  say, — 

Well  done,  O  descendant  of  the  great  Julius  Caesar ! 
And  may  your  deeds  and  heroism  in  this  noble  battle  for 
the  right,  ever  be  heralded  by  future  historians,  who 


194  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

must  give  credit  to  you  for  leading  a  vast  army  of  five 
million  souls  to  well-earned  victory  and  not  to  ignommi- 
ous  defeat! 


AH  SIN 

There  are  wails  and  tears  in  Mott  street,  the  Mandarins 

are  sad, 
They  wander  droopilv  around,  and  murmur :     "  Bad  — 

velly  bad  " ; 
The  very  dogs  in  Mott  street  wag  their  tails  between 

their  legs, 
They  moan  and  groan  in  Mott  street,  of  sadness  drink 

the  dregs. 

For,  where  is  almond-eyed  AH  SIN, —  the  pride  of  Old 

FuSan? 
He's  no  more  seen  in  Chinatown, —  he's  a  much-missed, 

mourned-for  man. 
No  more  his  beady  eyes  snap  fire,  no  more  his  laughter 

peals, 
No, —  not  again  do  China  maids  spin  with  him  in  wild 

reels. 

But  —  hear !     One  day  a  soldier  bold  came  stamping 

through  the  street. 
To  every  one  he  gave  a  nod  and  smilingly  did  greet, 
"  Your  Uncle  Sam  is  fighting,  across  the  sea,"  he  said, 
"  And  we  need  one  hundred  Coolies,  to  help  pile  up 

the  dead." 

'^  We  need  some  Chinks  to  washee-wash,  some  more  to 
scrubee-scrub, 

195 


196  FAMOUS  GENEKALS 

We  have  to  have  some  Chop-suey,  and  other  kinds  of 

grub, 
We  must  have  your  assistance,  in  France's  bloody  plight, 
So  —  step  up,  Lads,  and  help  Sam  out, —  sign  on,  this 

very  night." 

Now,  AH  SIN  heard  him  talking,  and  AH  SIN  dropped 

his  pipe, 
And  little,  slender  young  AH  SIN,  for  hostilities  was 

ripe, 
So,  he  put  a  cross  down  on  a  slip,  and  guaranteed  to 

sail 
The  following  day  for  distant  France,  to  help  the  Kaiser 

flail. 

No  good-byes  then  were  taken  —  he  slipped  away  un- 
seen. 

His  father  still  sold  china-ware,  when  AH  SIN,  lithe 
and  lean. 

Leaped  from  the  second-story  front,  and  ran  down  to 
the  sea, 

Where  a  great,  big  towering  Liner  lay  there  quietly. 

The  voyage  soon  was  over,  he  found  himself  in  France, 
Where  a  million  soldiers  jostled  him,  and  a  thousand 

steeds  did  prance. 
He  was  told  to  follow  on  behind  the  27th  Division, 
But  when  he  carted  his  pots  and  pans,  he  was  laughed  at, 

in  derision. 

"  Oh  —  look  at  Johnny  Chinaman,  how  Fritz  will 
run  !  "  was  called. 


AH  SIN  197 

"  You    pig-tailed,    wig-tailed    monkey,    you    Chinky- 

Chink,"  was  bawled, 
"  I^ow  all  the  rats  will  have  to  skip,  that  Chinatown's 

right  here ! 
Hurroo  for  Bats,    Oh,    Tom   Cats,    Scat !  "   was  cried 

from  far  and  near. 

But  little,  almond-eyed  AH  SIN  walked  on  and  smiled 

around, 
He  looked  above  at  Heaven,  and  he  gazed  down  at  the 

ground. 
With  quite  Celestial  quiet,  he  manfully  went  trudging. 
While  soldiers  laughed  and  jeered  at  him,  and  kept  each 
other  nudging. 

But,  now  the  Boys  were  at  the  Front,  they  huddled  in 

a  trench, 
There  were  dead  and  dying  all  around  —  of  GAS,  an 

awful  stench. 
The  shells  kept  screeching  o'er  their  heads,  the  bullets 

z-i-n-g-e-d  and  shied, 
And  from  the  mud,  occasionally,  a  horse  or  mule  was 

pried. 

And  little  AH  SIN,  in  the  rear,  just  cooked  and  toted 

food, 
'Twas  filled  with  cinders,  dirt,  and  soot,  but  it  tasted 

awful  good. 
The  men  grew  tired  and  restless,  but  at  length  the  order 

came. 


198  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

To  "  UP  AND  AT  'EM,  OVER  THE  TOP/'  it  fired 
their  blood  aflame. 

At  last  they'd  really  battle, —  and  each  man  cinched  his 

belt. 
And,  when  they  jumped  up  o'er  the  trench,  they  raced 

on,  helter-pelt, 
The  machine-gun  fire  did  thin  the  lines,  the  whistling 

lead  did  scream. 
They  now  were  struggling  desperately, —  they  fought  as 

in  a  dream. 

A  part,  soon  hemmed  in  all  around,  had  gathered  in  a 

vale. 
They   faced   the    Germans,    everywhere  —  they   cried : 

"  We'll  never  quail. 
We'll  fight  as  in  the  Alamo;  we'll  die  like  Crockett's 

men, 
Remember  we're  from  Old  New  York,  which  we  want 

to  see  again !  " 

Two  days  they  faced  the  Hunuish  horde,  two  days, — 

their  water  failed. 
Two  days  they  battled  manfully,  and  not  a  doughboy 

quailed, 
"  We'll  die  here  fighting  to  the  last,  we'll  never  live 

to  say 
That    Gennans    ever    captured    us  —  Boys    from    the 

U.  S.  A." 

But,  see !     One  day  a  figure  lean  came  creeping  towards 
the  group. 


AH  SIN  199 

"  Let  me  in  — oh,  velly  tired.     I'm  AH  SIN,  I've  got 

soup ; 
It  tastes  velly  good,  Cap !     Here's  food !     Some  chicken 

stew, 
Let  me  lie  still.     Me  velly  ill !     Me  come  through  with 

this  brew !  " 

Hurray  for  the  Chink !  —  Too  famished  to  drink,  they 

merely  gulped  it  down. 
Then,  turning  on  the  Boche,  they  fired.     HUEEAY! 

They  mowed  them  down, 
HUZZAH!     The    Marines    were    coming   up.     HUZ- 

ZAH !     They've  flanked  the  line, 
"  Now,  all  out.  Boys !     And  three  times  three !     The 

battle's  going  fine !  " 

The  flag  advanced, —  t'was  torn  with  shell, —  the  crater 

was  surrounded. 
Back  to  their  lines  the  Hindenburgs  were  piked,  and 

pushed,  and  hounded. 
And,  after  the  joy  of  being  saved  had  spent  itself  in 

part, 
They    looked    around. —  Ah!     Poor    AH     SIN     lay 

wounded  to  the  heart. 

A  shell  exploded  near  the  trench,  the  dirt  and  dust  fell 

there. 
And  weak  AH  SIN  was  buried, —  his  eyes  in  vacant 

stare. 
The  Captain  took  his  hand  in  his. —  Too  late !     He'd 

gone  aloft, 


200  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

Too    late  —  too    late — at    poor    AH    SIN    no    longer 
soldiers  scoffed. 

There's  a  little  mound  in  sunny  France,  there's  a  single 

slab  of  pine, 
There's  a  tiny  grave  at  Bourlon  Wood,  near  the  Crater 

of  a  Mine, 
And,  should  you  go  there,  Stranger,  when  now  hushed  is 

battle's  din, 
Kemove  your  hat  and  breathe  a  prayer  for  poor,  little 

true  AH  SIN. 


SIR  EDMUND  ALLENBY,  K.C.B. 

THE  C0:N'QUER0R  of  JERUSALEM 


SIR  EDMUND  ALLENBY,  K.C.B. 

THE  CONQUEROR  OF  JERUSALEM 

FEW  of  us  realize  that,  as  the  British  and  French 
were  struggling  in  France,  the  Russians  in  Rus- 
sia, and  the  Serbians  in  Serbia,  another  British 
army  was  smashing  its  way  to  Jerusalem,  the  Holy 
City  —  held  by  the  Turks.  The  place  which  watched 
over  the  shrine  of  Christ  fell  before  the  legions  of  Sir 
Edmund  Allenby,  and  thus  became  a  part  of  the  Brit- 
ish Empire.  The  Turks  were  driven  northward  and 
eventually  to  their  ovm  country. 

The  broad-shouldered  English  General  who  handled 
the  British  troops  had  taken  over  his  command  of  the 
Egyptian  Expedition,  or  Expeditionary^  Force,  from  Sir 
Archibald  Murray  in  June.  He  had  seen  hard  fighting 
in  Flanders,  having  been  in  all  the  actions  there,  and  he 
had  distinguished  himself  in  the  retreat  from  Mons. 
He  was  a  K.C.B.  (or  a  Knight  Commander  of  the 
Bath)  and  was  educated  at  Harleybury.  He  had  en- 
tered the  Enniskillen  Dragoons,  and  had  served  with 
them  in  the  Bechuanaland  Expedition  in  1884—1885. 
He  had  fought  the  Zulus  in  Zululand  in  1889,  and  had 
been  appointed  Adjutant  of  the  Enniskilleners  in  1889. 
He  was  what  is  familiarily  known  as  a  "  scrapper." 

When  Oom  Paul  Kruger  had  defied  the  Uitlanders 
and  had  started  war  against  England  in  far  distant 

203 


204  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

South  Africa  this  danger-lover  was  there  in  a  very  ac- 
tive capacity,  for  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the 
Fourth  Cavalry  Brigade.  These  were  with  French  in 
his  attack  on  Bloemfontein,  were  in  the  advance  on 
Pretoria,  the  capture  of  Cronje,  and  the  subsequent  guer- 
illa warfare  on  the  veldt.  Promoted  for  meritorious 
and  gallant  service  to  the  supreme  direction  of  the 
Fourth  Cavalry  Brigade,  he  was  ordered  to  take  full 
charge  of  the  cavalry  sent  to  Flanders  by  the  British 
in  1914.  From  this  post  he  was  dispatched  to  bandy 
cudgels  with  the  marauding  Turk  in  Southern  Pales- 
tine. 

Sir  Edmund  surveyed  the  English  forces  there,  and 
said :  "  It  is  well !  Thou,  Turk,  shalt  feel  the  might 
of  my  strong  right  arm  !      Selah  !  " 

Then,  Sir  Edmund  surveyed  the  line  held  by  the 
Turks  in  front  of  him.     Here  is  what  he  saw: 

The  enemy  positions  lay  from  Beersheba  to  the  sea 
of  Gaza,  along  the  main  road  which  links  the  two  towns : 
a  front  of  some  thirty  miles.  Gaza,  and  its  neighbor- 
ing villages,  had  been  converted  into  a  strong  fortress, 
and  the  rest  of  this  line  was  protected  by  a  series  of 
groups  of  fortified  redoubts.  These  were  about  a  mile 
apart  save  between  Beersheba  and  Hereira,  where  the 
fortifications  were  four  and  a  half  miles  from  each 
other.  The  lateral  communications  were  good  and  any 
threatened  point  on  the  line  could  be  quickly  reinforced. 
In  i\Iarch  Sir  Archibald  ^Murray  had  moved  against 
the  Turkish  army,  but  tlio  force  wliicli  faced  him  was 
far  less  formidable  than  tlio  well -organized  and  equipped 
fighters  which  faced  the  English  now. 


SIR  EDMUND  ALLENBY 


SIR  EDMUND  ALLENBY         205 

After  some  consultation  with  his  officers,  the  British 
leader  decided  to  strike  a  blow  against  the  Turkish  right, 
or  eastern  flank,  near  the  towns  of  Hereira  and  Sheria. 
Here  the  works  of  the  enemy  were  less  formidable  than 
elsewhere,  and  were  easier  of  approach.  The  capture  of 
Beersheba  was  a  necessary  preliminary  to  all  operations, 
in  order  to  secure  the  proper  water  supplies  and  to  give 
room  for  the  development  of  greater  maneuvers,  and  the 
deployment  of  an  attacking  force  on  the  high  ground  to 
the  north  and  northwest  of  Beersheba.  The  General 
says  in  his  report:  "  With  Beersheba  in  our  hands,  we 
would  have  an  open  flank  attack  against  which  to  op- 
erate, and  I  could  make  full  use  of  my  superiority  of 
mounted  troops,  and  a  success  here  offered  prospects 
of  pursuing  our  advantage  and  of  forcing  the  enemy 
to  abandon  the  rest  of  his  fortified  position,  which  no 
other  line  of  attack  could  afford." 

The  enemy's  force  on  the  Palestine  had  been  greatly 
increased  from  the  period  of  July  to  October.  It  was 
evident  that  the  Turks  would  make  every  effort  to 
maintain  their  position  on  the  Gaza-Beersheba  line. 
They  had  strengthened  their  defenses  on  this  front  and 
had  thrown  up  defensive  works  around  Beersheba.  Oc- 
tober 1st  was  set  as  the  date  of  attack  on  the  latter  place, 
when  a  large  flanking  force  was  to  strike  the  town  from 
the  east  and  northeast. 

But  the  Turks  were  not  to  be  caught  napping.  On 
the  morning  of  October  27th  they  made  a  strong  recon- 
naissance toward  Karm,  from  the  direction  of  Kanwu- 
kab,  with  two  regiments  of  cavalry  and  two  or  three 
thousand    infantrymen.     One   small   British   post   was 


206  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

rushed  and  the  men  were  cut  up,  but  not  before  heavy 
losses  had  been  inflicted  upon  the  enemy.  Another  post 
—  although  surrounded  —  held  out  all  day,  and  also 
caused  the  enemy  heavy  losses.  Here  the  Yeomanry 
fought,  and  made  such  a  strong  defense  that  the  53rd 
(Welsh)  Division  came  up  to  aid  them.  As  the  Turks 
saw  them  advancing,  they  withdrew. 

Several  war-ships  of  the  British  nav^^,  assisted  by  a 
French  battleship,  now  approached  the  coast  near  Gaza, 
and  bombarded  the  town  from  the  sea.  On  the  evening 
of  October  30th,  the  portion  of  the  eastern  force,  which 
was  to  make  the  attack  upon  Beersheba,  was  concen- 
trated in  a  position  of  readiness  for  a  night  march  to  a 
position  of  deployment.  This  march  was  successfully 
carried  out,  and  all  of  the  separate  units  reached  their 
appointed  positions  on  time. 

General  Allenby's  plan  was  a  good  one.  It  was  to 
attack  the  hostile  works  between  Khalsa  Road  and  the 
Wado  Saba,  with  the  Imperial  cavalry  corps  and  some 
infantry,  while  a  portion  of  the  53rd  (Welsh)  Division, 
farther  north,  covered  the  left  of  the  corps.  The  right 
of  the  attack  was  to  be  made  by  a  cavalry  regiment, 
while,  farther  east,  mounted  troops  took  up  a  line  op- 
posite the  southern  defense  of  Beersheba. 

At  8:45  A.  M. —  after  a  preliminary  bombardment  by 
London  troops,  with  a  small  loss  —  an  attack  was 
launched.  The  enemy's  barbed-wire  was  cut,  and  at 
12:15  p.  :m.  a  final  assault  was  ordered.  With  a  wild 
cheer  the  men  rushed  forward,  leaped  into  the  enemy's 
works,  and  by  1  p.  m.  all  of  the  intrenchments  had  been 
captured.     The  casualties  were  very  light. 


SIR  EDMUND  ALLENBY         207 

The  mounted  troops,  meanwhile,  had  been  marching 
northward  —  through  the  night  —  arriving  early  in  the 
morning  of  the  31st,  about  Khasim  Zanna,  in  the  hills 
some  five  miles  east  of  Beersheba.  In  the  evening  a 
mounted  attack  by  Australian  light  horse  proved  a 
complete  success.  They  galloped  over  two  deep  trenches 
held  by  the  enemy,  just  outside  of  the  town,  and  entered 
Beersheba  at  about  7  p.  m.,  capturing  numerous  prison- 
ers. 

Thus  a  very  strong  position  was  taken  with  but  slight 
loss,  and  the  Turkish  detachment  at  Beersheba  was  al- 
most completely  put  out  of  action.  Thirteen  guns  and 
about  two  thousand  prisoners  were  captured,  while  some 
five  hundred  corpses  were  buried  on  the  battlefield. 
Such  a  marked  success  laid  open  the  left  flank  of  the 
Turkish  army  to  a  decisive  blow. 

Pushing  forward,  the  British  troops  took  Gaza,  where 
four  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners  were  seized,  and  many 
Turks  were  killed.  The  British  losses  were  consider- 
able, and,  although  the  Turks  made  a  vigorous  counter- 
attack, they  were  again  driven  back  into  the  rough  and 
hilly  country  north  of  Beersheba,  where  they  were  fol- 
lowed, attacked,  and  driven  northward.  Gaza,  mean- 
while, was  evacuated  by  the  Turks,  and,  fighting  a 
stron^-;  rear-guard  action,  the  Turkish  army  retreated 
towards  Hebron. 

It  was  rumored  in  Jerusalem,  on  !N'ovember  9th,  that 
the  British  were  at  Huj,  behind  the  center  of  the  Gaza- 
Beersheba  line,  and  that  Tel-el-Sheria  and  his  men  were 
even  now  preparing  to  evacuate  the  Holy  City. 
Wounded  and  straggling  Turks  began  to  stream  into  the 


208  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

town  and  Turkish  officers,  in  utter  rout,  brought  news 
of  the  English  victory. 

Immediately  the  Turkish  officials  began  to  leave  the 
city  with  their  families.  Munitions  and  essential  stores 
were  sent  north  to  Shechem,  or  east  to  Jerico,  while 
a  great  wall  of  dust  bore  witness  to  the  retreat  of  carts, 
pack  animals  and  motor  lorries. 

General  Talkenhayn  —  the  German  ally  —  came 
from  the  city  of  Aleppo  to  reorganize  the  beaten  army, 
but  he  left  for  Shechem  on  N^ovember  16th,  so  the  con- 
trol of  the  troops  reverted  into  Turkish  hands.  All 
Fuad  Pasha,  commander  of  the  Turkish  forces  in  Jeru- 
salem, issued  two  proclamations  to  the  people  of  the  city. 

First,  he  warned  all  of  the  civilians  that  street  fight- 
ing was  to  be  expected,  and  that,  when  it  began,  they 
were  to  keep  indoors,  and  were  to  assist  the  troops  in 
the  impending  house-to-house  conflict,  under  pain  of 
severe  punishment.  The  second  proclamation  stated 
that  the  Turks  had  held  Jerusalem  for  one  thousand 
three  hundred  years  (or  for  nine  centuries  longer  than 
they  had  really  held  it)  and  they  could  not  now  abandon 
it.  The  townspeople  were  ordered  to  have  complete 
confidence  in  the  good  behavior  of  the  troops  detailed 
to  defend  the  city  to  the  last  ditch. 

Meanwhile,  the  British  were  coming  ever  nearer  and 
were  soon  reported  to  be  within  sight  of  the  city.  A 
sudden  panic  seemed  to  fall  upon  the  Turks  west  and 
southwest  of  the  town,  and  soon  the  citizens  saw  numer- 
ous transport  columns  in  full  retreat.  This  gave  great 
pleasure  to  the  Jews,  who  were  at  last  seeing  the  terri- 
ble Turks  in  retreat,  after  four  centuries  of  conflict. 


SIR  EDMUND  ALLENBY         209 

''  The  Turks  are  running  away !  "  many  called  out. 
"  The  day  of  deliverance  has  come !  " 

Early  in  the  day  —  in  fact,  at  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning  • —  tired  Turks  began  to  troop  through  the  JaflFa 
Gate  from  the  west  and  the  southwest.  From  two 
o'clock  to  seven  o'clock  the  Turkish  army  streamed 
through  the  city,  while  some  disgruntled  officers  mur- 
mured, "  Gitmaya  mej'boomz  "  ("  We've  got  to  go  "). 
The  Governor  was  the  last  to  depart,  leaving  behind 
him  a  letter  of  surrender,  which  the  Mayor  carried  to 
the  British  commander,  accompanied  by  a  couple  of 
policemen,  holding  two  white  flags. 

The  Turkish  army  finally  melted  into  the  dust  clouds 
in  the  shadowy  depth  of  the  valley  of  Jehosaphet,  and 
soon  the  British  army  approached  the  Jaffa  Gate,  with 
Sir  Edmund  Allenby  leading  it,  on  foot.  A  great 
crowd  gathered  to  meet  the  oncoming  conquerors,  and,  as 
they  came  into  the  toT^m,  set  up  a  cheer  of  triumph. 
Many  embraced  each  other,  several  wept  for  joy,  and 
others  bowed  reverently  as  the  dust-stained  legions 
tramped  by. 

The  long,  dark  night  of  Turkish  misrule  had  passed 
away  forever.  After  four  hundred  years  of  govern- 
ment by  the  Turks,  the  Holy  City  had  come  into  the 
hands  of  those  who  will  give  equal  rights  to  Moslem, 
Jew,  or  Christian.  Known  to  the  Jews  as  a  city  of 
mourning,  let  us  hope  that,  being  now  delivered  from 
the  black  night  of  oppression,  she  may  turn  her  mourn- 
ing into  joy. 

When  the  British  entered,  they  showed  characteristic 
tact.     A  proclamation  was  read  from  the  parapet  of  the 


210  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

citadel  below  the  tower  of  David.  It  was  in  English, 
French,  and  Arabic,  and  announced  that  order  would 
be  maintained  in  all  the  hallowed  sites  of  the  three  great 
religions,  and  that  no  impediment  would  be  put  in  the 
way  of  all  worshipers  therein.  When  this  ceremony 
had  been  completed,  General  Allenby  went  to  the  small 
square  behind  the  citadel,  where  he  was  presented  to 
the  chief  notables  and  ecclesiastics  of  the  different  com- 
munities who  had  remained.  After  this  brief  introduc- 
tion, he  left  the  City  of  David  by  the  Jaffa  Gate. 

As  he  swung  past  them,  the  Turks  saw  a  fine  speci- 
men of  English  manhood  —  as  fine  a  specimen  as  ath- 
letics and  outdoor-life  in  that  foggy  Isle  could  create. 
Here  was  a  man  who  had  withstood  every  shock  of  the 
campaign  with  a  smiling  face:  a  man  hardened  to  the 
life  of  a  soldier  by  polo  and  horse-back  riding.  Here 
was  an  old  steeple-chase  rider  of  note,  and  a  man  who 
had  once  owned  his  own  stable  of  steeple-chasers:  ani- 
mals which  had  made  a  good  account  of  themselves  in 
many  a  liotly  contested  race  in  the  far-away  country. 

An  old  sheik  turned  to  one  of  the  awe-struck  native 
carriers,  saying: 

"  Truly  the  Prophet  must  have  stood  beside  yonder 
soldier's  cradle." 

''It  is  the  truth,  Sahib,"  answered  the  carrier.  "  He 
has  been  blessed  by  Mahomet." 

A  veiled  lady  gazed  at  him  above  her  white  covering, 
which  hid  her  face  to  the  eyes,  and  whispered : 

"It  is  well  that  we  have  such  men  here,  instead  of 
the  terrible  Turk." 

And  as  the  cavalcade  of  soldiers  retired  to  their  tents, 


SIK  EDMUND  ALLENBY         211 

outside  the  city  walls,  all  of  these  crusaders  felt  heart- 
ily glad  that  the  great  and  historic  city  had  finally  come 
into  Christian  hands,  for  those  who  worshiped  Christ 
could  from  henceforth  feel  secure  in  the  knowledge 
that  the  shrine  of  the  Great  Teacher  as  under  the  pro- 
tection of  those  who  believed  in  his  teachings. 

'No  conqueror  ever  entered  a  city  with  more  prestige, 
as  for  centuries  there  had  been  current  an  Arab  proph- 
ecy that  a  deliverer  from  the  West  would  come.  The 
people  had  been  told  that  he  would  come  on  foot  and 
would  bear  the  name  of  the  Prophet  of  God.  It  had 
also  been  rumored  that  he  would  not  appear  until  the 
jSTile  flowed  into  Palestine.  To  the  peasant  mind  the 
prophecy  now  seemed  to  be  fulfilled,  for  General  Allen- 
by's  name  was,  in  Arabic,  the  "  Prophet,"  and  his  men 
had  come  to  that  land  bearing  the  waters  of  Egypt  with 
them. 

The  famous  city  in  the  thirty-three  centuries  of  her 
history  had  witnessed  some  twenty  sieges  and  an  equal 
number  of  blockades  and  occupations.  She  had  been 
the  Holy  City  alike  to  Jew,  Christian,  and  Moslem,  and 
dreamers  of  every  age  rebuilt  her  "  bulwarks,  in  the 
heaven  of  their  imagining."  She  had  been  the  goal 
of  many  an  expedition  and  the  prize  of  many  a  war. 
Conquerors  from  the  Tiber,  the  Bosphorous,  the  Rhone, 
and  the  Thames  had  struggled  to  gain  possession  of  her 
walls. 

So  fierce  had  been  the  struggles  for  the  mastery  of 
her  sacred  portals,  that,  in  the  Book  of  Lamentations, 
composed  five  hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ, 
it  had  been  written: 


212  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

"  Behold  and  say  if  there  be  any  sorrow  like  unto  my 
sorrow." 

The  British  operations  had  taken  place  between  Octo- 
ber 31st  and  December  9th,  and  over  twelve  thousand 
prisoners  had  been  taken.  Many  machine  guns  were 
captured,  twenty  million  rounds  of  rifle  ammunition, 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  rounds  of  gun  am- 
munition. More  than  twenty  airplanes  were  destroyed 
by  the  English  airmen,  or  burned  in  order  to  avoid  cap- 
ture. Fatigue,  thirst,  heat,  and  cold  had  been  uncom- 
plainingly endured  by  the  British  army,  and  the  co- 
operation of  all  arms  enabled  the  success  in  battle  to  be 
followed  by  an  irresistible  and  victorious  pursuit  of  the 
fleeing  Turkish  forces. 

Three  weeks  after  they  had  left  it,  the  Turks  rallied 
and  tried  desperately  to  regain  the  Holy  City.  But 
when  they  endeavored  to  recover  by  force  that  which 
they  had  lost  they  found  the  British  lion  was  too  strong 
for  them.  They  were  again  beaten  and  sent  flying  to 
the  northward,  humbled  and  crippled  by  the  Allenby 
machine. 

So  a  great  shout  went  up  from  all  the  free  peoples  of 
the  world,  for  Jerusalem  —  the  Holy  City  —  at  last  had 
been  saved  from  Turkish  misrule  and  oppression. 


YOUR  UXCLE  SAM 

Your  Uncle  Sam's  a  long,  lean  man, 

Built  on  the  aeronautic  plan. 

He's  kinder  keorless,  kinder  'fraid. 

That  some  one'll  say,  "■  He's  slow  an'  staid," 

Yet,  when  th'   old  bov  gits  eroused, 

He's  'tarnal  cussed  —  hair's  all  frowsed 

An'  tangled  —  he  jes'  chews  an'  swears, 

An'  growls  an'  yowls  like  twenty  bears. 

He  sat  one  day  a-cleaning  his  gim, 
Wlien  some  young  feller  came  on  the  run, 
An'  shouted  to  him :     "  See  here,  Old  Man, 
Them  gol  dinged  Dutchmen  have  th'  plan, 
Ter  take  fer  theirs  th'  whole  durned  world, 
An'  drink  their  beer,  their  flag  unfurled 
Above  your  little  cabin  door!  " 
At  that  old  Sam  got  mighty  sore ! 

Old  Sam  he  blinked :     "  By  Gum,"  says  he, 

"  I  see  they've  sunk  th'  Lusitanee. 

By  gum,"  says  he,  "  we'll  hev  tew  know, 

Who  in  Thunder's  goin'  ter  run  this  show !  " 

Old  Sam  jumps  up.     Old  Sam  he  cries: 

"  We'll  give  them  Germans  a  little  surprise !  " 

Wall!     Your  Uncle  Sam  he  kept  his  word, 
The  men  they  went  at  the  Fritzie  herd. 

213 


214  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

Your  Uucle  Sam  he  was  on  to  th'  job, 

An'  he  put  such  a  punch  in  th'  German  mob, 

That  soon  they  made  the  Kaiser  say : 

"  Let's  quit !     I  don't  like  the  way  you  play !  " 

So,  boys,  keep  your  eyes  on  your  Uncle  Sam, 
His  nose  is  lean  and  he  butts  like  a  ram. 
The  grand  Ole  Cuss  is  just  keen  on  er  scrap, 
An'  fer  gas  an'  bullets  don't  keer  er  rap ; 
So,  Lads,  let  th'  Ole  Man  hoe  his  tater, 
Don't  plague  him  or  bother  his  better  nater, 
Or  th'  Bear  Cat'll  take  down  his  rifle  agin. 
An'  then  —  Look  out  fer  yer  Couplin'  Pin  J 


SIR  STANLEY  MAUDE 

ANOTHER  KITCHENER 


SIE  STANLEY  MAUDE 
ANOTHER  KITCHENER 

WHILE  the  British  army  was  wrestling  with  the 
Germans  in  Belgium,  another  British  army, 
three  himdred  thousand  strong,  was  advanc- 
ing through  a  desert  country  in  Mesopotamia,  to  the  cap- 
ture of  Kut-el-Amara,  held  by  the  Turks.  The  Ger- 
mans were  allied  with  these  people,  and,  among  other 
dreams  of  the  Kaiser,  was  one  of  the  conquest  of  that 
territory  lying  towards  India,  so  that  a  German  railroad 
could  run  from  Berlin  to  Bagdad.  He  had  often  said: 
"  We  Germans  must  expand  to  the  East,  to  the  West, 
and  towards  India." 

The  British  army  was  led  by  General  Maude :  a  man 
similar  to  Kitchener  of  Khartoum  in  many  particulars, 
and  with  a  task  quite  similar  to  that  which  confronted 
Kitchener  on  the  way  to  Khartoum,  in  Egypt.  Here 
General  Gordon  had  been  killed  by  the  followers  of  the 
Mahdi  —  an  Egyptian  ruler  —  and,  in  order  to  take  this 
country  away  from  him  and  to  punish  him  for  his  mas- 
sacre of  British  troops,  Kitchener  had  advanced  to 
Omdurman  and  Khartoum.  He  had  successfully  'cap- 
tured both  places,  had  defeated  the  Mahdi,  and  had  made 
a  British  protectorate  of  the  country. 

General  Maude  was  born  in  18G4,  the  son  of  General 
Sir  Francis  Maude,  G.C.B.,  V.C. ;  he  was  educated  at 

217 


218  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

Eton  and  Sandhurst,  entering  the  British  army  in  1881. 
Married  in  1893  to  Miss  Cecil  Cornelia  Marianne  St. 
Leger,  he  is  the  proud  parent  of  one  son  and  two  daugh- 
ters. His  rise  to  a  commanding  position  has  been  grad- 
ual, for  in  1896  he  was  a  Captain,  in  1899  a  Major,  in 
1907  a  Lieutenant-Colonel,  a  Colonel  in  1911,  and 
a  Major-General  and  Divisional  Commander  in  1915, 
He  was  appointed  Lieutenant-General  in  command  of 
the  Tigris  Army  Corps  in  July,  1916,  and  Commander- 
in-Chief  in  Mesopotamia  in  August,  1916. 

Prior  to  this  campaign,  the  noted  leader  had  been  in 
many  an  engagement.  He  served  in  the  Soudan  against 
the  black  troops  of  that  country  in  1885,  and  was 
awarded  the  medal  with  clasp  and  Khedive's  star.  He 
was  in  the  advance  upon  Kimberly  in  the  South  African 
war  from  1899  to  1901 ;  was  in  the  actions  at  Poplar 
Grove,  Dreifontein,  Karire  Siding,  Vet  River  and  cross- 
ings of  the  Zand ;  also  in  the  many  operations  of  the 
Pritish  army  in  Cape  Colony  and  the  Orange  Free  State. 
He  had  smelled  freely  of  the  powder  of  battle,  prior  to 
the  advance  to  Kut-el-Amara. 

This  British  hero  of  the  Great  War  is  also  like  Kitch- 
ener in  that  he  has  the  ability  to  bide  his  own  time,  to 
keep  his  own  counsel,  and  yet  to  drive  men  unmerci- 
fully —  inspiring  them,  at  the  same  instant,  with  his 
indomitable  spirit.  The  Tommies  simply  adored  him. 
"  When  he  passes,"  says  a  war  correspondent,  who  was 
with  the  army  at  Kut-el-Amara,  "  every  Tommy  stands 
so  stiff  and  salutes  so  earnestly  that  he  quivers  all  over. 
They  do  that,  I  suppose,  because  they  feel  deeply  about 
it,  and  that  is  the  only  way  that  they  can  show  him 


SIR    STANLEY    MAUDE 


SIR  STANLEY  MAUDE  219 

how  they  feel."  The  soldiers,  in  fact,  worshiped  him, 
just  as  they  did  Kitchener,  and  they  have  woven  legends 
about  him  just  as  they  did  around  Lord  Kitchener. 

General  Maude  is  a  hard  worker  and  he  drives  his 
Staff  terribly  —  if  an  officer  makes  a  mistake  he  knows 
it,  I  can  assure  you.  Every  one  is  afraid  of  him,  and 
has  —  at  the  same  time  —  implicit  confidence  in  him. 
A  silent  man,  with  a  wonderful  face,  he  is  strong  and 
clean  cut.  He  notices  every  detail  and  is  quick  to 
criticise  if  anything  is  wrong. 

"  One  day,  in  Bagdad,"  writes  a  correspondent,  '^  he 
came  into  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  to  see  what  we  were  doing, 
and,  as  I  happened  to  be  there  alone,  he  asked  me  to 
take  him  around.  He  wanted  to  see  everything  —  the 
servant's  quarters,  the  kitchens,  the  ice-cream  freezers, 
the  sleeping  couches, —  everything.  He  went  over  them 
all  himself.  He  did  not  say  much  —  except  to  ask 
questions.  And  he  didn't  offer  any  compliments  — 
that's  his  way.  If  anything  is  all  right  —  well  and 
good.  You  have  done  your  duty.  That  is  enough. 
But,  if  it  is  not  done  right  he  tells  you  so,  and  he  tells  it 
to  you  in  a  way  that  you  will  not  soon  forget." 

In  the  advance  into  Mesopotamia  the  British  had 
to  contend  with  an  alien  climate  in  which  white  troops 
could  work  only  during  the  cool  months  of  the  year. 
General  Maude  reached  Basra,  which  was  the  British 
base  in  Mesopotamia,  in  August,  1916.  From  then 
until  December  13th,  he  devoted  himself  entirely  to  the 
organization  of  the  campaign  in  hand.  Xearly  all  the 
army  was  put  to  work  helping  the  coolies  and  the  trans- 
port troops,  in  building  roads,  and  in  carrying  up  sup- 


220  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

plies.  Including  coolies,  transport,  commissariat,  base 
troops,  boatmen,  and  other  units  behind  the  lines,  the 
Mesopotamian  Expeditionary  Force  must  have  num- 
bered three  hundred  thousand  men,  or  four  complete 
divisions  and  part  of  three  others. 

In  these  divisions,  numbering  some  twenty  thousand 
men  each,  the  proportion  of  Indian  troops  to  white  was 
about  two  to  one.  The  Indians  and  whites  were  inter- 
mingled in  everv  division  but  the  Thirteenth,  which 
was  direct  from  England,  and  it  included  a  Lancashire 
Brigade  and  Battalions  of  the  Hants,  Wilts,  and  Welsh 
Fusileers,  South  Wales  Borderers,  I^orth  Stafford- 
shires,  Warwicks,  and  Worcesters.  The  Indian  troops 
were  Sikhs,  Punjabis,  and  Ghurkas. 

There  was  a  division  of  cavalry  also  made  up  mainly 
of  Indian  troops,  with  only  two  white  regiments:  the 
Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth  Hussars.  The  Indian  Lanc- 
ers were  gaudily  attired  and  made  a  great  spectacle  as 
they  rode  over  the  desert  with  their  lances  held  high, 
and  their  lance  pennons  fluttering  over  their  heads. 
There  was  plenty  of  artillery  also;  none  of  the  guns 
larger  than  the  four-inch  piece,  because  of  the  deep  sand 
and  difficulty  of  transporting  heavier  ammunition  across 
it.  The  British  had  poison  gas,  but  so  had  their  op- 
ponents —  the  Turks  —  and,  by  a  gentlemen's  agree- 
ment, neither  side  used  it  against  the  other.  The  Turks 
were  well  supplied  with  air-ships  —  the  British  had  only 
B  E  12's  and  a  couple  of  Bristol  Scouts,  which  they 
never  fought  in,  unless  they  absolutely  had  to. 

By  the  morning  of  December  13th  all  seemed  to  be 
ready. 


SIR  STxVNLEY  MAUDE  221 

"  We  will  attack,"  said  General  Maude,  softly,  "  and 
we  will  strafe  those  Turks  to  the  Mediterranean.  Are 
you  ready,  boys  ?  " 

And  all  the  Staff  said,  "  We  are." 

At  first  a  feint  attack  was  made  upon  the  position 
held  by  the  Turks  at  Sunniyat,  a  strong  set  of  earth- 
works behind  a  river,  which  barred  the  direct  advance 
upon  Bagdad.  It  was  so  strong  that  it  seemed  impos- 
sible to  take  it  by  frontal  attacks.  The  British  held 
what  was  called  the  Sinn-Diyarhah  position  out  on  the 
desert  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tigris  —  across  the  river 
—  from  the  Sunniyat  position,  to  a  point  midway  be- 
tween the  Sunniyat  position  and  the  Shatt-el-Hai,  a  trib- 
utary of  the  Tigris. 

As  the  guns  roared  at  the  Turks  intrenched  on  the 
Sunniyat  line,  the  English  Commander  had  a  bridge 
thrown  across  the  Shatt-el-Hai  River,  and  advanced  his 
troops  from  the  Sinn-Dujarhah  position  almost  to  the 
banks  of  the  Tigris,  above  Kut.  The  fighting  was 
fierce,  and,  by  January  19th,  the  British  had  cleared 
the  Turks  from  the  ground  between  the  Shatt-el-Hai  and 
the  right  bank  of  the  Tigris. 

The  Turks  fought  gamely,  and,  above  Kut,  still  held 
the  right  bank  of  the  Dihra  Bend,  a  rather  deep  stream. 
On  February  10th  the  British  attacked  here,  captured 
the  licorice  factory  which  General  Townshend  had  held 
throughout  the  siege  of  Kut,  in  the  year  previous,  and 
drove  the  Turks  away.  Meanwhile  on  the  ITth  of 
February,  and  up  to  the  22nd,  there  was  a  general  at- 
tack upon  the  Sunniyat  position  in  order  to  divert  the 
Turks'  attention  from  what  was  really  going  to  occur. 


222  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

On  Febniarv  15th,  the  Dihra  Bend  was  taken  from 
the  Turks,  who  were  sent  reeling  to  the  left  bank  of  the 
stream,  and  on  the  night  of  the  22nd  a  fierce  attack  was 
launched  across  the  river  at  Kut,  and  at  a  position  just 
above  and  below  Kut.  Three  parties  of  the  ISTorfolks, 
meanwhile,  were  sent  to  force  what  was  known  as  the 
Shumran  Bend,  in  pontoons.  Two  companies  got 
safely  over  and  intrenched,  under  cover  of  the  spitting 
fire  from  machine-guns.  A  bridge  was  built  over  the 
river  in  the  extraordinary  time  of  nine  hours,  for  the 
river  is  here  three  hundred  yards  wide  and  the  current 
flows  nine  miles  an  hour.     It  was  a  daring  deed. 

While  this  was  transpiring,  the  British  attacked  the 
Sunniyat  position  and  took  the  first  two  lines  of 
trenches  which  were  counter-attacked  six  times  by  the 
desperate  Turk.  Xext  morning  some  one  came  into 
their  lines,  crying: 

"  The  British  are  in  your  rear  and  have  crossed  the 
Tigris." 

Selah! 

Turning  tail,  the  Turks  ran  away  so  fast  that  few 
were  captured,  and,  advancing  rapidly,  the  British  took 
two-thirds  of  their  artillery.     Kut  had  been  taken. 

The  Turks  retreated  to  the  Diala  River,  and  here  they 
again  intrenched.  On  March  Tth  the  British  tried  to 
throw  a  bridge  across,  near  the  mouth  of  the  stream,  but, 
although  many  volunteers  endeavored  to  get  the  pon- 
toons into  position,  every  man  was  killed  by  the  accurate 
marksmen  hidden  behind  earthworks  upon  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river.     It  was  a  desperate  fight. 

The  Turks  were  excellent  fighting  men,  for  they  had 


SIR  STANLEY  MAUDE  223 

been  well  trained  by  numerous  German  officers,  drilled 
in  tbe  hard  school  of  the  German  military  machine. 
Contrary  to  expectation,  they  stood  the  British  fire  with- 
out wincing,  and  took  more  punishment  than  the  Eng- 
lish had  expected  them  to  do.  They  seemed  to  be  still 
game  —  in  spite  of  defeat  —  and  pluckily  held  their 
ground  against  the  advancing  British  and  Indian  troops, 
who,  with  the  lust  of  victory  in  their  eyes  now  were 
bent  upon  carrying  all  before  them. 

On  the  evening  of  March  8th  sixty  men  of  the  North 
Lancashires  under  cover  of  a  barrage  fire  so  intense 
that  it  raised  clouds  of  sand  which  obscured  the  even- 
ing's sun,  forded  the  Diala  and  intrenched  in  a  nullah, 
or  gully.  With  a  loss  of  twenty  men  they  held  on  until 
midnight  of  the  ninth,  when  they  were  relieved  by  troops 
which  had  crossed  farther  up  the  stream. 

When  their  ammunition  had  become  exhausted,  more 
was  sent  to  them  by  a  cable  which  was  shot  across  the 
river  by  a  rocket.  This  was  cut  by  the  Turks  with 
machine-gun  fire  and  thus  the  ammunition  had  to  be 
thrown  across  by  hand.  The  men  hung  on  with  grim 
and  silent  determination, 

A  bridge  was  now  built  over  the  Diala  still  higher 
up,  and  this  was  soon  crowded  with  troops  pushing 
over  to  the  rescue  of  the  men  in  the  nullah.  Flanking 
the  Turks  on  this  side,  they  marched  onward  to  the 
suburbs  of  the  city  in  the  early  morning  of  March  11th, 
captured  the  railway  station  and  finally  entered  the  town 
of  Bagdad.  The  Seventh  Division  claimed  that  it  was 
the  first  to  march  into  this  place,  but  the  battalions  of 
the  Thirteenth  Division  always  asserted  that  they  en- 


224  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

tered  at  the  same  time  from  the  south.  Over  eight  thou- 
sand Turkish  prisoners  were  taken,  the  British  losing 
perhaps  thirty  thousand  men  in  the  entire  campaign. 

A  member  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  who  was  there  at  the 
British  entry  tells  us  that: 

"  The  Kurds  came  in  and  looted  and  massacred  be- 
fore the  British  arrived.  All  the  houses  were  stripped 
of  their  doors  by  the  looters,  and  most  houses  were  with- 
out doors  when  I  arrived  in  the  city  in  order  to  open 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  station  there.  You  know  that  the 
British  kept  on  after  they  reached  Bagdad,  and  by  ^lay 
the  first  were  fighting  about  one  hundred  miles  north 
of  the  city,  thirty-two  miles  above  Samaras,  where  the 
first  break  in  the  railroad  begins.  The  Turks  left  six 
locomotives  here,  after  carefully  blowing  off  the  cylin- 
ders from  four,  all  on  one  side.  The  British  promptly 
took  the  engines,  removed  the  cylinders  from  four,  and 
patched  up  two,  so  they  had  the  railroad  operating  again 
in  a  few  days. 

"  Except  for  its  size  Bagdad  was  like  every  other 
city  in  Mesopotamia ;  mud-built,  dirty,  and  unsanitary. 
'  Blow  me,  I  thought  that  we  was  comin'  somewhere,' 
I  heard  one  Tommy  say. 

"  The  Tommies  got  along  very  well  with  the  Turks 
and  had  quite  an  admiration  for  them.  They  called 
their  enemies  Johnny  Turk,  which  is  their  pet  name 
for  their  Indian  favorite,  Johnny  Ghurka.  During  the 
hot  weather  of  1916,  when  both  armies  faced  each  other 
in  the  Sunniyat  position,  by  a  gentlemen's  agreement, 
like  that  in  reference  to  gas,  both  sides  stopped  fighting. 
The  onlv  water  was  in  the  river,  and  an  hour  was  fixed 


SIR  STANLEY  MAUDE  225 

for  the  British  to  go  down  and  get  theirs,  and  another 
hour  for  the  Turks.  I  heard  that,  after  the  British 
had  made  an  advance,  a  Turkish  aeroplane  flew  over 
the  camp  and  dropped  a  note  of  congratulations.  I 
don't  know  whether  this  was  true,  but  the  Tommies  be- 
lieved it." 

In  the  surrounding  country  were  plenty  of  Arabs,  and 
these  proved  to  be  the  worst  enemy  to  both  Turk  and 
British.  The  Arabs  plundered  both  sides  indiscrimi- 
nately, and  whenever  a  battle  was  fought  the  wild  tribes- 
men joined  with  the  winning  side.  They  would  go  over 
the  field  —  after  the  fighting  was  over  —  and  would  steal 
everything  that  was  portable.  So  bad  w^ere  they,  that, 
at  one  time,  a  suggestion  was  made  that  the  Turks  and 
British  call  the  war  oif  for  a  while  and  form  a  com- 
posite Anglo-Turk  army  to  strafe  the  Arabs  —  or  to  beat 
them  up. 

Arabs  are  the  most  inveterate  thieves  in  the  world, 
and,  in  order  to  plunder  and  steal,  will  risk  everything 
—  including  their  necks.  The  English  say  that  they 
prefer  to  steal  where  it  is  diflicult,  rather  than  where  it 
is  easy. 

One  of  the  soldiers  who  was  with  General  Maude  tells 
the  following  story : 

"  Two  Arabs  entered  the  tent  next  to  mine  at  Omara, 
and,  while  one  of  them  held  a  knife  over  the  Sergeant 
who  occupied  it,  the  other  took  everything  which  he 
could  place  his  hands  on.  And  they  escaped,  although 
that  was  in  the  middle  of  the  camp." 

One  night  —  when  their  sentry  went  to  sleep  —  the 
Australian  wireless  detachment  at  Omara  lost  thirty-one 


226  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

rifles  through  the  depredations  of  the  slick  and  sleek 
Arabs. 

These  children  of  the  desert  were  crafty  in  regard 
to  feigning  death,  and  frequently  would  fall  down  when 
shot  at  and  would  appear  to  be  killed.  When  the  un- 
suspecting sentry  would  march  on,  they  would  then 
creep  into  camp  and  steal  everything  that  they  could. 
So  slick  were  they,  that,  at  one  time,  they  stole  ten 
camels  out  of  a  camp  which  had  block-houses  every  five 
hundred  yards  and  sentries  every  two  hundred  and 
fifty  yards. 

After  the  British  troops  entered  Bagdad,  order  was 
soon  restored  and  the  British  flag  was  hoisted  over  the 
city.  In  the  afternoon,  the  English  gun-boat  flotilla 
proceeded  up  the  stream,  anchored  opposite  the  British 
residency,  and  a  considerable  force  was  put  on  guard 
upon  either  bank  of  the  river.  Quiet  now  reigned,  and 
peace  seemed  to  have  settled  over  the  mud-walls  of  the 
captured  citadel  of  Turkish  power  in  Mesopotamia. 

There  was  little  of  great  value  in  the  town,  for  the 
Turks  had  been  removing  stores  and  articles  of  military 
value  for  a  fortnight  before  the  English  came.  In  the 
arsenal  were  found  all  the  guns  (rendered  useless  by 
General  Townshend)  which  fell  into  the  enemy's  hands 
in  the  capture  of  Kut-el-x\mara,  in  April,  1916,  when 
the  Turks  had  been  the  victors. 

The  Turks  meanwhile,  had  intrenched  in  a  strong 
position  south  of  the  ]\lushaidie  railroad  station,  some 
twenty  miles  north  of  Bagdad,  and  eagerly  watched 
the  British  army.  On  March  14  a  force  under  Gen- 
eral Coble  carried  this,  after  a  brilliant  charge  by  the 


SIR  STANLEY  MAUDE  227 

Black  Watch  and  Ghurkas.  At  the  station  itself  tlie 
enemy  made  his  last  stand,  but  the  Black  Watch  and 
Ghnrkas  rushed  the  station  at  midnijjht,  and  pursued 
the  enemy  for  half  a  mile  beyond.  The  Turks  went  off 
so  rapidly  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  British  to  keep 
up  with  the  fast  moving  hordes,  and,  on  March  16,  the 
English  aeroplanes  reported  stragglers  over  a  depth  of 
twenty   miles. 

The  Turks  were  now  pretty  thoroughly  whipped,  and 
a  post  was  established  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Diala, 
opposite  Baqubah,  thirty  miles  northeast  of  Bagdad. 
On  the  nineteenth  of  the  month,  British  troops  occu- 
pied Eeluja,  thirty-five  miles  west  of  Bagdad  on  the 
Euphrates,  driving  out  the  Turkish  garrison.  The  oc- 
cupation of  Feluja,  with  Nasariyeh  already  in  British 
possession,  gave  the  English  control  over  the  middle  Eu- 
phrates from  both  ends  of  the  river.  During  the  rest 
of  the  month  minor  operations  were  undertaken  on  the 
Diala,  pending  the  arrival  of  Russian  forces  advancing 
from  Persia.  Mesopotamia  was  hopelessly  lost  to  both 
Turk  and  Kaiser,  and  a  great  cheer  of  victory  went  up 
from  the  anxious  multitudes  in  far  away  Great  Britain, 
for  they  knew^  that  the  danger  from  Kaiserism  had  been 
removed  from  this  particular  area  of  the  world. 

In  announcing  the  success  of  this  expedition  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  the  day  following  the  receipt  of  the 
news,  Mr.  Bonar  Law  said : 

"  General  Maude  in  these  operations,  has  completed 
his  victorv  by  a  pursuit  of  one  hundred  and  ten  miles 
in  fifteen  days,  during  which  the  Tigris  was  crossed 
three  times.     This  pursuit  was  conducted  through   a 


228  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

country  destitute  of  supplies,  despite  the  commenceinent 
of  the  summer  heat.  Such  operations  could  be  carried 
out  in  such  a  country  only  after  the  most  careful  ar- 
rangements made  for  the  supplies  of  the  troops.  The 
fact  that  General  Maude  not  only  has  been  able  to  as- 
sure proper  attention  to  the  sick  and  wounded,  but  has 
been  able  to  report  that  he  is  satisfied  that  he  can  pro- 
vide for  the  necessities  of  his  army  in  Bagdad,  reflects 
the  greatest  credit  upon  all  concerned." 


i 


WE'RE  HERE,  LAFAYETTE! 

When  Franklin  went  to  gay  Paree,  so  many  years  ago, 
He  talked  with  all  the  potentates,  and  told  them  of  the 

blow 
That  the  Yankee  boys  were  stemming  in  the  land  across 

the  sea, 
And,    when   they   shrugged   their   shoulders,   he   urged 

them  eagerly: 

"  We  need  your  good  franc  pieces,  and  we  need  your 

soldiers,  too. 
We're  fighting  for  our  lives.  Messieurs,  'neath  the  old 

red,  white  and  blue. 
We've  had  a  row  with  General  Gage,  we've  fought  with 

Tarleton's  men, 
And  we  re  standing  off  old  man  Burgoyne,  in  a  far-off 

northern  glen." 

But  the  Frenchmen  shrugged  their  shoulders,  so  many 

years  ago, 
And  they  said :     "  We  cannot  help  you,  clier  monsieur, 

unless  you  show, 
That  you  can  trim  these  grenadiers :  these  soldiers  of  the 

King, 
And,  if  that's  so,  we'll  give  you  all  the  help  that  we  can 

bring." 

So,  Franklin  kept  on  waiting,  while  back  at  home  they 
worked ; 

229 


230  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

And  Franklin  kept  on  smiling,  although  the  waiting 

irked, 
'Til    a    cruiser    sailed    into    Boulogne,    a    cheer    arose 

straightway, 
As  they  cried :     "At  Saratoga,  your  hoys  have  won 

the  day." 

Thus  the  Frenchmen  gave  him  soldiers,  and  they  gave 

him  money,  too, 
With  Lafayette  and  Rochambeau,  all  dressed  in  buff 

and  blue. 
And  a  mighty  fleet  went  with  them  to  the  wide  Virginia 

shore, 
Where  they  rounded  up  Cornwallis,  'neath  the  cannon's 

grumbling  roar. 

Xow  many  years  have  passed  away,  'tis  France  that's 

sorely  pressed. 
The  Germans  have  them  on  the  run,  and  are  driving 

them  to  Brest, 
A  cry  goes  up  to  Uncle  Sam  — "  We  need  your  help,  Old 

Man, 
We  aided  you  when  you  were  young,  now  give  us  all  you 

can!'' 

Hurray!  The  Yanks  have  answered  and  they're  rush- 
ing to  her  aid, 

Hurrah !  The  boys  are  coming,  and  the  debt  of  hon- 
or's paid! 

Look  there  —  the  mighty  Legions  swarming,  listen, 
can't  you  hear? 


WE'RE  HERE,  LxVFAYETTE!     231 

A  stirring  shout  arises  — 'tis —  "  LAFAYETTE, 
WE'RE  IlEKE ! " 

"  Oh,  Lafayette,  we're  here,  in  time,  we're  coming  thou- 
sands strong, 

Oh,  Lafayette,  we'll  ne'er  forget  your  aid  when  we 
were  young, 

'Tis  noblesse  oblige,  my  boy,  we  are  glad  to  help  you 
win. 

We'll  drive  the  Germans  back  for  you,  just  let  us  once 
begin ! 

"We're  here,  Lafayette,  and  we'll  repay  one  thousand 

fold, 
What  you  did,  Lafayette,  in  the  rustic  days  of  old. 
We've  come,  Lafayette,  and  we  raise  a  cheer  for  you. 
And  dip  the  gallant  colors  of  the  old  red,  white  and 

blue." 


FRANCHET  D'ESPEREY 

HERO  OF  THE  BALKAN  CAMPAIGN 


FRANCHET  D'ESPEREY 
HERO  OF  THE  BALKAN  CAMPAIGX 

WIEIST  the  Germans  were  tryinc;  to  get  to  Paris 
they  endeavored  to  push  straight  on.  by  cross- 
ing the  river  Mense,  This  would  have  been 
all  right,  as  far  as  they  were  concerned,  had  it  not  been 
that  a  doughty  French  General  stood  in  their  path.  So 
doughty  was  the  fellow,  that,  after  meeting  with  his 
men,  the  following  German  reason  was  given  for  non- 
ability  to  reach  the  objective  desired. 

"  It  was  on  August  23d  that  Von  Hansen's  Saxon 
army  crossed  the  Meuse.  If  better  plans  had  been  laid, 
the  crossing  of  the  river  could  have  taken  place  much 
more  quickly.  The  delay  was  a  contributory  cause  of 
the  failure  of  the  German  army  in  the  beginning  of 
September,  and  the  German  forces,  marching  towards 
Paris,  had  to  be  grouped  differently.     Signed 

"KiRCHAUSEN." 

As  a  result  of  this  inability  to  crush  the  French, 
General  Von  Hansen  —  one  of  the  most  famous  Gen- 
erals of  the  German  army  —  lost  his  command,  and  some 
few  weeks  later  he  was  crossed  off  the  list  of  that  army. 
The  Kaiser  had  to  have  men  who  "  made  good,"  or 

they  W'Cre  sent  to  the  rear. 

235 


236  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

While  the  German  officer  was  being  reprimanded  and 
dishonored,  the  man  who  had  opposed  him  —  General 
Franchet  D'Esperey  —  was  given  a  well-deserved  pro- 
motion. General  Foch  immediately  intrusted  him  with 
the  command  of  the  entire  Fifth  Army,  made  up  of  the 
18th,  the  3d,  the  1st,  and  the  10th  corps,  and  the 
cavalry  corps. 

General  Franchet  D'Esperey  was  already  well  known 
in  France,  for  he  had  carried  the  flag  to  success  in  Mo- 
rocco, and  had  there  distinguished  himself.  Promoted 
to  be  General  of  Brigade  March  23d,  1908,  he  had  the 
good  fortune  to  be  sent  to  far  distant  Morocco  four 
years  later,  where  he  succeeded  General  Moinier.  Xear 
the  end  of  1913,  after  having  accomplished  several  very 
arduous  campaigns  against  rebellious  tribesmen,  which 
were  productive  of  excellent  results,  he  returned  to  the 
mother  country  where  he  later  received  three  stars  and 
the  collar  of  a  Commander  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 

In  1914  this  well-known  soldier  was  called  to  com- 
mand the  First  Army  Corps  at  Lille,  and  when  the 
German  hordes  swept  down  upon  Paris  there  was  Gen- 
eral D'Esperey  in  their  path,  there  with  the  Poilus: 
determined,  hard-fighting,  desperate.  At  Charleroi, 
where  both  English  and  French  were  defeated,  he  was 
the  only  Allied  General  who  won  a  victory.  He  was 
then  in  command  of  the  First  Army  Corps  —  made  up 
for  the  greater  part  of  men  from  Lille  and  Flanders  and 
these  were  men  of  heroic  mold  who  said :  "  They  shall 
not  pass." 

"  They  shall  not  pass,"  they  cried,  and,  as  the  gray- 
clad  hordes  surged  to  the  bridges  of  the  Meuse,  there 


FRANCHET  D'ESPEREY         237 

were  the  Poilus  to  riddle  them  with  machine  pm  and 
rifle  fire.  At  no  great  distance  from  Namnr  these  gal- 
lant souls  held  the  bridges  all  day,  and,  as  the  shadows 
of  evening  began  to  fall,  they  charged,  singing  their 
ancient  battle  cries  which  had  led  them  to  victory  under 
Jeanne  D'Arc.  The  issne  of  the  battle,  however  had 
been  already  decided,  and  several  allied  corps,  which 
were  in  a  bad  position,  w^ere  forced  backwards. 

The  army  dropped  to  the  rear  fighting  grimly,  while 
it  was  left  for  General  D'Esperey,  with  the  First  Army 
Corps,  to  protect  the  right  flank  of  the  Franco-'Rriti^h 
Corps,  and,  with  extraordinary  dash,  he  achieved  that 
formidable  task.  Attacking  the  Saxons  —  the  hardest 
fighters  of  all  Germany  —  he  threw  them  into  disorder 
and  he  drove  back  to  the  Eiver  Meuse  an  enemy  division 
which  had  succeeded  in  crossing  the  river.  It  was  a 
furious  attack  and  it  seemed  to  fairly  hypnotize  the 
Saxons,  who  stood  as  if  afraid  to  interfere,  and  all  dur- 
ing the  night  of  the  22nd,  and  the  whole  day  of  the 
24th,  they  allowed  the  entire  French  army  to  pass  by  un- 
molested. 

On  August  23d  the  Boche  saw  that  it  was  impossible 
to  advance  against  D'Esperey's  men,  and  hence  the  note 
from  Kirchausen  which  admitted  the  valiancy  of  the 
leader  of  the  First  Army  Corps. 

On  the  River  Marne,  when  French  and  English  stub- 
bornly battled  with  the  Kaiser's  vanguard,  Franchet 
D'Esperey  won  new  laurels.  In  command  of  the  Fifth 
Army,  he  here  held  the  line  to  the  north  of  Provins,  as 
far  as  Sezanue  —  between  the  commands  of  Generals 
French  and  Foch.     Facing  him  were  the  left  wing  of 


238  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

Von  Kluck's  army  and  the  right  wing  of  Von  Bulow's 
horde. 

The  Germans  were  then  supremely  confident  of  ulti- 
mate victory,  and  they  came  on  with  a  nish.  It  was 
early  on  the  morning  of  September  6th  that  Joffre  gave 
his  famous  order  to  attack,  and,  when  the  news  reached 
General  jyEsperey,  that  fighting  man  threw  himself 
with  extraordinary  fury  upon  the  left  wing  of  Von 
Kluck's  army,  and  the  right  wing  of  Von  Bulow,  in- 
cluding the  Saxons,  the  Prussian  Guard,  and  the  vic- 
tors of  the  battles  in  Belgium. 

There  is  a  small  stream  in  Virginia  which  runs  just 
below  the  place  where  the  men  of  the  North  charged  the 
famous  Stonewall  Brigade  behind  a  railroad  embank- 
ment during  the  battle  of  Second  Bull  Run.  Standing 
there  one  day  and  conversing  with  a  farmer,  who  had 
been  in  the  battle,  he  informed  me  that  the  waters  of 
this  quiet  brook  had  been  red  with  blood  during  the 
furious  fighting  which  there  occurred.  So  at  the  River 
Marne  the  waters  of  the  stream  which  flowed  between  the 
forces  of  General  D'Esperey  and  Von  Kluck  were  soon 
dyed  a  rich  crimson  with  the  blood  of  the  contending 
armies.  Prying  a  wedge  between  Von  Bulow  and  Von 
Kluck,  the  hard-fighting  Frenchmen  took  the  village  of 
Esternay  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  Driving  the  Ger- 
mans before  them,  they  threw  everything  into  disorder 
which  faced  them,  and  on  the  8th  they  entered  Mont- 
mirail,  over  a  mountain  of  German  dead. 

Hurrah !  The  Boche  was  trounced,  and,  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  9th,  the  aviators  signaled  that  Von  Kluck 
and  Von  Bulow  were  retreating.     True  enough,   die- 


FRANCHET  D'ESPEREY         239 

tressed  and  somewhat  disorganized  by  the  furious  on- 
slaught, the  gray-backs  thought  that  they  had  proceeded 
into  France  quite  far  enough.  All  were  happy  as  they 
pressed  hard  upon  the  rear  of  these  invaders,  and  they 
sang. 

On,  on,  pressed  D'Esperey  with  his  men,  on  towards 
Montmirail,  Vauchamp,  and  Champaubert. 

Finally  it  became  necessary  to  recall  the  victorious 
Frenchmen  from  their  bloody  onslaught  and  they  were 
moved  towards  Chateau-Thierry  where,  aided  by  the 
English,  they  menaced  Von  Kluck's  rear.  Another 
corps  of  this  Fifth  Army,  meanwhile,  echeloned  to- 
wards the  south,  taking  in  flank  the  second  half  of  Von 
Bulow's  Army,  and  helped  Marshal  Foch  to  perform 
deeds  of  great  heroism  in  the  center  of  this  great  bat- 
tle. 

The  battle  of  the  Marne  was  soon  over.  France  — 
humanity  —  civilization  —  had  been  saved,  and  among 
the  immortals  who  had  stemmed  the  onslaught  of  the 
barbarians  was  Franchet  D'Esperey  —  now  with  the 
same  rank  as  Foch,  Castleneau,  Fayolle,  and  Joffre. 
His  name  was  associated  with  all  the  mighty  operations 
of  the  French  in  this  great  war  —  the  Somme  —  the 
Champagne  —  the  Aisne  —  and  no  one  had  higher 
praise  from  all  than  this  doughty  General.  Finally, 
in  the  month  of  June,  1916,  he  was  sent  to  the  Balkans 
to  take  a  new  command,  that  of  the  armies  of  the  Orient. 
Eight  short  weeks  after  he  had  landed  at  Salonika  he 
again  covered  his  name  with  glory,  and  the  victor  of  the 
Meuse  and  of  Montmirail  became  the  victor  of  Vardar. 

Now  —  know  you  —  that  the  Bulgar,  against  whom 


240  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

our  eminent  General  was  pitted,  is  a  curious  soldier,  for 
he  takes  to  the  rocks  and  precipices  like  a  mountain  goat. 
He  is  patriotic  and  will  die  for  his  country  when  he  be- 
lieves himself  to  be  in  the  right,  but  he  also  is  prone  to 
retreat  and  to  give  in  when  he  sees  that  the  odds  are 
against  him.  Perched  upon  the  mountain  trails,  these 
tribesmen  saw  a  vast  army  come  to  drive  them  from  their 
country.  Here  were  British,  Greeks,  French,  Italians, 
and  Serbians.  They  looked  down  upon  them  with  awe, 
yet  they  intrenched,  smoked  their  pipes,  and  waited  for 
the  day  of  battle. 

"  War,"  said  Napoleon,  "  is,  above  all,  the  art  of  ex- 
ecution." 

Franchet  D'Esperey,  immediately  after  his  arrival, 
began  to  prepare  for  the  execution  of  a  great  drive 
which  would  annihilate  the  Bulgar  army,  drive  the 
tribesmen  to  the  rear  in  confusion,  and  settle  the  su- 
premacy of  the  Allies  then  and  there.  The  Bulgars, 
meanwhile,  thought  themselves  safe  from  attack,  owing 
to  the  natural  difficulties  which  lay  in  the  path  of  the  Al- 
lied forces.  High  up  on  the  hills  and  ridges  of  the 
mountainous  region  between  Dobro  Polje  to  Hozicaks 
they  used  spade  and  shovel  to  throw  up  earthworks,  and 
contented  themselves  with  reenforciug  their  line.  They 
sang  their  strange  songs,  and  their  voices  came  ringing 
down  from  the  heights.  They  blew  on  their  long  bugles 
and  danced  their  curious  dances,  where  they  spun 
around  like  a  top.  Yet,  all  the  while,  the  French  Com- 
mander-in-Chief was  preparing  by  building  roads,  haul- 
ing up  big  guns,  and  making  ammunition  dumps  which 
could  be  easilv  reached. 


FRANCHET   D'ESPEREY 


FRANCHET  D'ESPEREY         241 

It  was  August  before  these  preparations  had  begui), 
for  many  circumstances  prevented  the  Allied  Com- 
mander from  beginning  these  preparations  any  earlier. 
The  summer  heat  lingers  along  the  coast  well  into  the 
Fall,  and  the  Winter  is  quite  severe.  It  was  thus 
important  that  the  campaign  should  be  closed  before 
the  snow  began  to  drift  across  the  mountain  tops. 

The  sector,  chosen  for  the  attack,  lacked  communi- 
cations, except  for  goat-paths  which  were  all  right  for 
goats,  but  impractical  for  artillery.  A  road  was,  there- 
fore, laid  out  by  the  Engineers  —  a  road  over  which 
troops  and  ammunition  might  travel ;  it  ran  from  Dojne 
to  Pojar,  and  from  Grevesta  to  Seiliam.  To  the  French 
troops  was  assigned  the  task  of  piercing  the  Bulgarian 
line ;  they  were  told  that  they  had  to  traverse  the  wild 
country  before  them,  covered  with  low  brush,  dense 
forests  and  scrub,  while  deep  ravines,  chasms,  and 
precipices  were  intervening. 

This  did  not  seem  to  worry  the  Poilus  in  the  least 
and  they  went  to  work,  singing.  If  you  have  to  die 
soon  you  might  as  well  do  so  cheerfully,  seemed  to  be 
their  thought,  and,  as  the  work  progressed  and  the 
road  was  constructed,  guns  were  pushed  up  to  the  front. 
At  an  altitude  of  fully  six  thousand  feet,  heavy  guns 
were  hoisted  into  position ;  guns  which  could  carry  far 
into  the  Bulgarian  line.  And  the  Bulgars,  meanwhile, 
still  watched  what  was  going  on  with  apparent  stolidity. 

General  Franchet  D'Esperey  seemed  to  know  how 
to  deal  with  his  men,  for  he  had  a  ready  v/ord  for  all, 
and  this  quite  won  the  hearts  of  his  troops.  They 
worked  quite  willingly,   and,   when    all   seemed   to  be 


242  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

ready  for  the  assault,  he  had  the  affections  of  every 
one.  The  Bulgarian  position  had  been  carefully 
studied,  and  all  knew  where  to  attack,  so  as  August 
wore  to  a  close  and  the  bright  sun  of  September  shone 
over  the  scene  of  animation,  the  General-in-Chief  smiled, 
for  he  saw  that  he  was  soon  to  launch  an  offensive  that 
would  end  in  an  ultimate  triumph. 

As  the  soldiers  of  the  signal  detachments  laid  their 
telephone  and  felegraph  lines  in  the  chaos  of  rocks  and 
trees,  they  had  to  scale  the  bowlders  like  goats.  For 
the  main  part  they  were  well  hidden,  but  the  Bulgars 
watched  them  without  apparent  interest,  when  they  did 
appear  in  the  open,  and  only  occasionally  shelled  the 
Allied  line.  Finally,  on  September  14th  all  seemed 
to  be  ready,  and  the  order  was  passed  along  the  battle- 
column  to  open  fire  with  the  artillery. 

BOOM ! 

With  a  roar  that  reverberated  among  the  giant  crags 
and  bowlders,  the  first  signal  gun  spoke  its  missive  of 
death,  and  it  was  followed  by  the  belching  growl  from 
hundreds  of  iron  throats. 

BOOM ! 

The  Bulgars  answered  with  115's,  but  this  seemed  to 
have  little  effect  upon  the  Allied  artillery. 

CKASH !     ROAR ! 

Gun  after  gun  spat  and  shrieked  at  the  mountain 
fastness  and  the  brushwood  was  soon  blazing.  Columns 
of  yellowish  smoke  began  to  ascend  from  the  hillside, 
while  the  great  valley  resounded  to  the  roar  of  the 
booming   cannon.     All    day   raged   the   artillery   duel, 


FRANCHET  D'ESPEREY         243 

and  the  stillness  of  night  was  grateful  to  the  ears  of 
the  war-worn  soldiery. 

Morning  came  —  the  morning  of  September  15th  — 
again  spoke  the  signal  gnn,  and,  promptly  at  five  o'clock 
A.  M.  the  French  Colonials  went  over  the  top.  Cheer- 
ing wildly,  they  rushed  at  the  enemy  trenches  with 
bomb  and  bayonet,  while  an  artillery  barrage  prepared 
the  way.  The  Bulgars  were  no  match  for  them,  they 
seemed  to  be  unable  to  cope  with  these  cheering,  piking, 
striking  Poilus. 

The  Sengalese  troops  of  the  French  army  captured  the 
first  line  and  nine  hundred  demoralized  prisoners  in 
just  about  forty  minutes.  They  took  the  second  line 
shortly  afterwards,  except  for  one  trench  which  was 
crammed  with  machine  guns.  A  company  of  Sengalese 
bombers  attacked  this  in  the  rear,  and  it  also  fell. 
The  day  was  drawing  to  a  close  and  the  Bulgars  seemed 
everywhere  to  be  defeated. 

On  the  extreme  right  of  the  line  the  Serbian  troops 
also  advanced,  driving  the  Bulgars  from  their  first 
and  second  line  trenches  with  ease.  The  British  line 
fought  grimly,  but  no  advance  was  obtained,  and  the 
Bulgars  claimed  a  repulse  with  heavy  losses,  a  claim 
which  has  never  been  fully  justified. 

In  the  center,  the  Allied  Division  had  to  wait  while 
the  division  on  the  left  engaged  the  Bulgars  on  the 
slopes  of  Sokol  and  in  the  marshes  at  the  foot  of  Dobro- 
Polje,  where,  although  badly  hampered  by  the  terrain, 
they  finally  completed  the  task  set  before  them.  By 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  principal  Bulgar  posi- 


244  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

tions  were  in  the  hands  of  the  Allies,  the  only  obstacle 
remaining  being  the  Grantza  Peak. 

The  Biilgars  began  to  pull  themselves  together  and 
they  offered  stubborn  resistance,  even  attempting  to 
hurl  the  Allies  back  over  the  original  line,  but  reenforce- 
ments  were  coming  up  quickly  and  they  could  do  noth- 
ing. It  was  a  smashing  attack  that  was  delivered,  and 
the  Bulgar  picked  troops  were  hurried  up  to  stem  the 
advance.  They  could  do  no  damage.  On  all  sides 
and  everywhere,  as  the  growling  cannon  boomed  and 
spat,  the  French,  Sengalese,  Italians,  Greeks,  and  Brit- 
ish, pressed  the  mountain  tribesmen  back.  !N'ight  fell 
and  there  was  little  dancing  in  the  camp  of  the  Bulgars. 
Instead  there  was  weeping  and  lamentation. 

The  Krantza  Crest  —  the  key  to  the  entire  position 
—  was  bitterly  fought  for,  and  eventually  it  was 
firmly  held  by  the  Allies.  On  the  left,  the  French 
Division  took  Sokol  and  Dobro-Polje  and  a  swamp 
which  was  thick  with  hidden  machine-guns.  On  the 
right,  the  Serbs  held  Vetrenick  and  the  mountainous 
Pass  called  the  Vetrenick  Elephant's  Ear.  Evening 
fell  upon  a  field  strewn  with  dead  and  dying. 

Next  morning  the  brov^m  eyes  of  General  D'Esperey 
were  flashing,  for  it  had  been  a  glorious  victory,  More 
than  three  thousand  Bulgar  prisoners  streamed  to  the 
rear  behind  the  Allied  line,  while  fully  fifty  guns  were 
theirs,  including  a  number  of  155's.  The  heavier  guns 
were  immediately  turned  upon  the  enemy  by  the  Serbs, 
and  great  shells  went  ricocheting  over  their  new-made 
trenches.     Quantities  of  trench-mortars,  machine-guns, 


FRANCHET  D'ESPEEEY         245 

rifles,  and  munitions  of  all  kinds,  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  victors. 

But  there  was  little  fight  left  in  the  army  of  hillmen 
and  goat-herds.  The  Allies  went  marching  onward, 
with  cheers  and  with  confidence,  while  a  flag  of  truce 
was  soon  exhibited  upon  the  other  side.  Mr.  Bulgar 
had  had  quite  enough. 

In  fact,  the  doughty  Franchet  had  taken  the  follow- 
ing towns  with  the  extraordinary  names  of:  Prelep, 
Veles,  Ish-tich  (where  there  must  have  been  a  gentle 
touch)    and   Strummit-za. 

No  wonder  that  people  who  owned  such  possessions 
wanted  to  get  rid  of  them,  so,  Bulgaria  asked  an  ar- 
mistice and  the  victory  of  Vardar  had  closed  the  war  in 
the  Balkans. 

Franchet  D'Esperey  smiled  —  even  laughed  —  for  he 
had  done  a  good  day's  work. 


THE  CALL  TO  AEMS 

I  am  just  a  simple  rrenchman 

And  I  live  at  Bar  le  Due, 
Where  we  make  good  cheese  and  jelly, 

Which  we  sell  to  every  cook. 
I  am  just  a  simple  fellow, 

I'm  for  peace  and  the  joyous  dance, 
And  I  love  the  rolling  acres 

Of  my  native,  beauteous  France. 

Why  should  these  Germans  wish  to  fight  ? 

Go  ask  their  Kaiser  grand, 
He  dresses  forty  times  a  day 

And  owns  a  lot  of  land. 
He  talks  of  being  linked  with  God, 

He  prates  of  heavenly  fire, 
Which,  emanating  from  the  sky. 

Rolls  'round  him  like  a  spire. 

Quite  right,  Monsieur,  I  love  them  not. 

And  what,  sir,  can  I  do? 
These  Rhinish  fellows  want  to  fight, 

And  they'll  get  a  good  one,  too. 
They  swarm  down  on  our  country 

And  they  drink  up  all   our  wine, 
And  they  laugh  at  us,  and  say  that  we 

Are  "  feeble,  spineless  swine." 

246 


THE  CALL  TO  ARMS  247 

Parhleu,  Monsieur !     The  summons  comes, 

It  echoes  o'er  the  hill 
The  bugle's  throat  is  bursting  with 

The  angry  call  to  kill ! 
It  says :     "  Rise  up,  you  Pollu!" 

Which  means  you  hairy  men, 
Who  used  to  live  here  years  ago 

In  a  Neolithic  den. 

So,  au  revoir,  my  happy  home, 

And  au  revoir,  my  wife, 
I've  got  to  go  and  fight  the  Boche 

And  end  this  foolish  strife. 
Why  is  it  that  they  want  our  land  ? 

Why  won't  they  leave  us  be? 
Ta  done!     I  do  not  know.  Monsieur, 

Perhaps  the  Sphinx  can  see ! 


EDOUARD  DE  CURIERES 
DE  CASTELNAU 

THE  DEFENDER  OF  NANCY 


EDOUARD  DE  CURIERES 
DE  CASTELNAU 

THE  DEFENDER  OF  NANCY 

AFEENCH  General  —  grizzled,  troubled-looking, 
sad-eyed  —  was  dictating  dispatches  to  his  Quar- 
termaster near  the  battle-lines  at  Verdun.  Far 
away  roared  the  great  guns,  and  white  wisps  of  smoke 
rolled  across  the  pock-marked  fields.  Suddenly  a  mud- 
bespattered  ofiicer  appeared,  and.  saluting,  stood  at  at- 
tention as  the  war-weary  General  looked  him  over. 

"  What  is  it,  Piquard  ? "  asked  the  General,  still 
scribbling. 

The  officer  had  tears  in  his  eyes  and  did  not  reply. 

Again  the  General  queried: 

"What  is  it?" 

Now  the  officer  had  found  his  voice,  but  it  was 
quavering,  as  he  stammered : 

"  Your  son  Xavier  has  just  been  killed  in  Alsace. 
They  say  that  he  fell  gloriously  in  a  charge." 

The  old  soldier's  eyes  glistened  with  tears  and  he 
remained  silent.  Then,  turning  to  his  Quartermaster, 
he  remarked: 

"  Go  on,  sir.  One  cannot  forestall  the  Will  of  God. 
His  Will  be  done." 

Without  more  ado,  this  Spartan  continued  with  his 
dispatches,  and  soon  completed  the  work  at  hand.  He 
was  a  Stoic  —  and  a  Philosopher.     Yet  deep,  deep  into 

2.51 


252  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

his  fatherly  heart  had  pierced  the  Arrow  of  Sorrow. 

This  philosophical  soldier  of  the  French  Republic 
was  General  de  Castelnau,  known  all  over  France  as 
the  "  Hero  of  the  Grande  Couronne  de  Nancy." 

A  true  veteran  is  the  eminent  soldier;  a  veteran  not 
only  of  the  Great  World  War  which  has  just  ended, 
but  also  a  veteran  of  the  war  of  1870  between  France 
and  Prussia.  General  Curieres  de  Castelnau,  in  fact, 
was  born  on  December  24th,  1851,  at  Saint-Afrique, 
Aveyron.  His  father,  a  distinguished  Avocat,  or  Law- 
yer, had  left  the  family  castle  Saint-Come  in  order  to 
settle  in  this  little  French  town,  where  he  married 
Mademoiselle  Barthe,  of  Rouergne,  whose  ancestors 
had  all  been  Notaries  at  Murasson,  as  well  as  Mayors 
of  the  sleepy  little  village. 

In  the  Eighteenth  Century  Jean  Baptiste  de  Curieres, 
Baron  of  Castelnau,  was  a  Page  of  the  French  King, 
and  in  the  year  1750  he  was  made  a  Captain  of  Cavalry. 
In  1770  we  find  him  a  Lieutenant  Colonel,  a  Brigadier 
in  1772,  and  a  Marshal  in  1788.  He  was  a  fighter,  too, 
and  was  desperately  wounded  at  Forbach,  in  recognition 
of  which  the  King  gave  him  a  sword  studded  with 
jewels,  which  has  been  preserved  as  a  precious  relic  by 
the  de  Castelnaus  for  many  years. 

This  eminent  soldier  had  three  brothers,  one  of  whom 
was  an  Abbe,  another  a  Chevalier,  and  a  third  was 
distinguished  as  a  Sea  Captain.  This  fellow  married 
his  cousin  Ayral  du  Bourg,  and  had  a  son  Jean  Bap- 
tiste —  historian  —  one  of  whose  sons  was  the  father 
of  Michel  de  Castelnau,  bom  at  Espalion  in  1810,  who 
was  the  father  of  the  General  of  the  Great  War. 


DE  CASTELXAU  253 

The  street  where  the  now  eminent  soldier  was  born 
is  on  the  edge  of  the  River  Sorge,  and,  although  it 
formerly  had  the  name  of  Bart,  this  has  now  been 
changed  to  the  Street  of  General  de  Castelnau.  This 
change  was  made  on  January  8th,  1916,  and  many 
speeches  were  made  at  the  time,  by  the  Mayor,  and 
others,  in  praise  of  this  gallant  Frenchman  who  com- 
manded the  French  Poilus  at  the  awful  battles  around 
Verdun. 

All  of  the  de  Castelnau  brothers  went  to  a  Sanctuary 
of  the  St.  Joseph  Catholic  Sisters,  in  the  vilhiac  of 
Bart,  and  it  has  been  recorded  that,  although  the  two 
older  brothers  excelled  in  their  lessons,  the  youngest 
of  all  —  the  Great  de  Castelnau  —  remained  at  the 
bottom  of  his  class  in  every  one  of  his  studies.  In  spite 
of  this  inability  to  be  a  student  he  was  so  full  of  fun 
that  he  was  the  life  of  every  party.  He  was  also  of 
an  inquisitive  frame  of  mind  and  was  one  day  discovered 
in  the  act  of  dissecting  a  mechanical  horse  in  order  to 
see  what  was  in  his  stomach.  In  physical  sports  he 
was  always  first,  and  in  military  tactics  also. 

The  French  boys  were  accustomed  to  play  a  game 
called  tournoi,  or  tournament,  which  was  something 
similar  to  the  game  of  Rounders.  They  also  used  to 
get  up  mock-plays,  or  fetes,  called  carrousels.  One 
day  the  great  Bishop  of  Lounders  —  known  also  as  the 
Monseigneur  de  Lalle,  head  of  the  Diocese  of  Nancy, 
came  to  the  school,  so  a  fete,  or  carrousel,  was  staged 
for  his  especial  benefit,  in  which  our  future  de  Castel- 
killer-of-men  took  a  very  prominent  role. 

At  the  close  of  this  affair  there  was  a  great  parade 


254  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

of  all  who  had  taken  part,  and  the  future  General, 
mounted  in  a  Greek  chariot,  drawn  by  soldiers,  was 
carried  past  the  portly  Bishop,  whom  he  saluted  by 
bowing  low.  The  Prelate  was  much  pleased  by  the 
performance,  and  especially  by  the  work  of  little  de 
Castelnau,  so  he  said: 

"  Young  man,  I  congTatulate  you.  You  have  staged 
this  affair  quite  excellently,  and  you  yourself  are  to 
be  highly  commended  for  all  that  you  have  done  to 
make  my  visit  a  happy  one.  I  thank  you,  and  may 
you  continue  to  bring  happiness  to  all." 

This  was  in  the  year  1867,  quite  a  long  time  ago,  you 
see,  but  the  future  General  never  forgot  what  the  good 
Bishop  had  said  to  him. 

Little  de  Castelnau  remained  for  nine  years  in  the 
College  of  St.  Gabriel  before  he  went  to  Paris  and  be- 
came a  student  at  St.  Cyr;  the  same  Military  School 
at  which  Napoleon  the  First  was  educated.  Here  he 
remained  only  a  few  months  and  did  not  graduate.  In- 
stead he  was  dispatched  to  the  Rhine  on  August  6th, 
1870,  and  billeted  with  the  31st  Infantry,  which  was 
soon  engaged  with  the  advancing  Prussian  army  under 
Von  Moltke  and  Bismarck.  Six  months  after  he  had 
left  St.  Cyr  he  was  a  Captain,  and  he  was  only  nineteen 
years  of  age. 

Throughout  the  fierce  struggle  between  Napoleon  the 
Third  and  the  Prussians  the  eminent  soldier  fought 
with  a  courage  that  was  most  commendable,  and,  at  the 
close  of  the  campaign,  he  continued  in  the  army,  enter- 
ing the  College  of  War  in  1878. 

Since  this  time  he  has  alwavs  been  identified  with 


DE  CASTELXAU  255 

the  French  army,  and  his  career  has  been  stable  and 
ever  upward. 

In  1889  he  was  a  Commandant. 

In  1891  he  was  decorated. 

In  1900  he  was  made  a  Colonel. 

In  1909  he  was  created  General  of  Brigade. 

In  1913  General,  or  "  Papa,"  JofFre  called  him  to 
be  Chief-of-Staff  of  the  French  Army.  lie  was  soon 
sent  to  take  charge  of  the  Poilus  in  Lorraine,  and  was 
made  General-in-Chief  of  the  Second  Army,  which 
valiantly  withstood  the  shock  of  the  superior  German 
forces  which  were  hurled  upon  bleeding  France.  The 
Army  of  Lorraine  was  held  on  the  heights  of  the  Grand 
Couronne  de  Nancy  while  "  Papa  "  JofFre  gave  battle 
to  the  Germans  on  the  Ourcq  and  the  ]\Iarne. 

The  village  of  Nancy,  shelled  by  the  great  German 
guns,  stood  in  the  path  of  the  advancing  Teutons,  and, 
with  all  the  might  of  their  vast  machine  they  here 
endeavored  to  crash  through  the  French  lines  and  on 
towards  Paris.  But  they  had  General  de  Castelnau 
to  contend  with,  and  they  had  the  Army  of  Lorraine, 
the  ranks  of  Avhich  were  filled  with  fathers  of  families, 
with  brothers  and  relatives  of  all  the  women  and  chil- 
dren behind,  who  were  clinging  to  their  houses  and 
farms,  hoping  against  hope  that  this  tide  of  invasion 
would  be  checked. 

The  French  75's  were  limbered  up  and  pointed  at 
the  Germans,  and  whenever  the  Hunnish  masses  en- 
deavored to  press  onward  over  the  hills  of  Xancy  they 
were  met  with  such  a  withering  fire  from  the  belching 
light  guns  that  they  could  never  advance. 


256  FAMOUS  GENEEALS 

Finally,  the  French  themselves  went  on,  and  General 
de  Castelnau  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  Hun- 
nish  forces  beaten  away  from  the  town,  while  their  long 
lines  of  artillers^  had  to  be  withdra^vn  from  the  trenches 
of  the  Mortagiie  and  the  Meurthe  to  positions  nearer 
their  own  frontier. 

A  great  sigh  of  satisfaction  went  up  from  all  the 
French  behind  the  solid  line,  as  this  withdrawal  oc- 
curred, but  there  was  weeping  and  desolation  in  every 
home,  for  the  very  flower  of  France  had  fallen  —  among 
them  the  youngest  son  of  our  General,  and  also  his 
favorite,  the  boy  Xavier.  The  great  soldier  was  the 
father  of  eight  sons  and  four  daughters. 

Although  the  Battle  of  the  Marne  will  go  down  to 
history  as  the  great  battle  of  this  war,  this  battle  of 
Nancy  and  of  Lorraine  was  the  most  important  of 
French  victories,  and  it  made  possible  the  defeat  of  the 
Germans  at  the  Marne.  This  Lorraine  field  was  the 
field  that  France  and  Germany  had  planned  —  for  a 
generation  —  to  fight  on.  The  French  General  Staff 
had  prepared  numerous  plans  of  battle  for  this  par- 
ticular sector,  as  all  knew  that  the  Germans  would  enter 
France  through  the  gap  in  between  the  Vosges  moun- 
tains and  the  hills  of  the  ^Meuse. 

Had  the  Germans  but  respected  the  neutrality  of 
Belgium,  and  not  invaded  the  territory  of  King  Albert, 
the  entire  army  would  have  pressed  into  France  by 
this  route.  The  Marne  battlefield  was  one  reached 
by  the  Germans  by  chance.  This  field,  however,  was 
one  upon  which  the  French  had  always  known  that 
thev  would  have  to  fight  —  everv  foot  of  this  countrv 


DE  CASTELNAU  257 

had  been  thoroughly  studied  by  the  members  of  the 
French  General  Staff. 

General  de  Castelnau  had  commanded  an  army 
whose  line  stretched  from  the  village  of  Pont-a-Musson, 
on  the  north,  to  Bayon  —  southeast  of  this  position. 
Barbed-wire  entanglements  were  in  front  of  all  this 
sector,  and  in  the  woods  of  Bois  de  Fac  the  Germans 
reached  the  high-water  mark  of  their  invasion,  a  posi- 
tion similar  to  the  Clump  of  Trees  at  Gettysburg.  In 
the  field  below  this  wood  now  lie  four  thousand  dead 
Germans ;  who  they  were  no  one  knows ;  they  came  here 
at  the  command  of  their  Kaiser,  and  they  died  here 
before  the  weltering  fire  of  the  French  muskets  and 
75's. 

Straight  across  the  river  from  here,  and  west  of  it, 
is  the  Forest  of  the  Advance  Guard,  where  were  thou- 
sands of  German  machine-guns  on  the  day  of  battle. 
Here  the  French,  lying  in  their  trenches,  had  been 
swept  by  an  awful  fire,  but  tenaciously  and  gamely 
they  had  held  on.  So  frightful  were  their  losses,  how- 
ever, that  their  commander  had  received  an  order  to 
retreat.  He  insisted  that  the  order  be  put  in  writing 
so  as  to  gain  time,  for  he  did  not  wish  to  fall  back. 
The  order  finally  came  —  made  out  by  one  of  General 
de  Castelnau's  aides.  It  had  to  be  obeyed,  so  the 
French  slowly  and  reluctantly  retreated.  With  silence 
and  depression  they  went  southward.  Suddenly  a  cry 
resounded  all  along  the  line.  It  was :  ''The  Germans 
are  retreating,  themselves." 

"  En  Avant !  "  With  a  cheer  the  French  came  l)ack, 
reoccupied  their  old  trenches,  and  fired  at  the  backs  of 


258  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

the  enemy, —  the  northern  door  to  Nancy  had  been 
blocked  by  the  bodies  of  the  Poilu. 

Yet  the  Germans  attempted  to  regain  the  lost  ground 
and  made  a  night  attack,  IsTot  less  than  twenty  thou- 
sand men  —  an  entire  Division  —  were  formed  beyond 
the  French  position,  and  launched  four  times  at  the 
bleeding  but  gamey  Poilus.  The  slope  which  they  ad- 
vanced over  was  very  gradual  and  these  were  picked 
troops,  chosen  to  break  through  to  Paris.  But  —  they 
failed  —  failed  so  utterly  that  they  called  this  the  Hill 
of  the  Dead,  and  thousands  of  them  now  lie  there,  buried 
without  any  regard  to  either  regiment  or  name. 

The  Grand  Mont  d'Armance  is  on  the  southeastern 
corner  of  the  Grand  Couronne,  and  is  the  most  famous 
point  of  the  Lorraine  front.  From  the  top  of  this 
hill,  one  thousand  and  three  hundred  feet  high,  one 
can  look  eastward  into  German  Lorraine,  the  Promised 
Land  of  France.  On  the  top  of  this  hill  General  de 
Castelnau  watched  his  own  troops  follow  the  Germans 
over  the  frontier  in  August.  In  the  hills  beyond  the 
Germans  had  hidden  their  machine-g-uns,  and,  as  the 
Poilus  advanced  exultantly,  they  had  been  unsupported 
by  artillery,  so  had  broken  badly  when  enfiladed  by  the 
murderous  German  fire. 

In  the  valley  below,  more  than  two  hundred  thousand 
men  had  fought  for  days  and  days.  At  one  place  a 
French  brigade  charged  across  the  fields  at  8  :15  o'clock 
p.  M.,  and  by  8 :30  it  had  lost  three  thousand  out  of 
six  thousand  men.  Then  the  Germans,  flushed  with 
success,  debouched  from  the  woods  to  charge  themselves, 
and  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  they  lost  three  thousand  five 


DE  CASTELNAU  259 

hundred  soldiers.     The  land  is  simply  one  vast  grave- 
yard. 

In  the  distance  is  the  little  Seille  Eiver,  which  marked 
the  line  of  the  old  frontier.  Across  this  first  came  the 
Germans,  and  across  this  they  afterwards  retreated, 
swarming  across  the  low,  bare  hills,  and  disappearing 
into  the  woods  —  the  Forest  of  Champenoux,  Here 
they  rallied,  turned,  and  fought  a  frightful  battle  with 
the  exultant  French,  which  lasted  for  days.  The  trees 
are  hacked  and  torn  to  pieces  with  shell  fire. 

At  the  foot  of  the  hill  is  a  fountain,  in  the  center  of 
a  cluster  of  buildings,  and  here  is  where  the  Germans 
reached  their  highest  point  of  advance.  The  houses 
were  torn  asunder,  the  whole  place  was  badly  wrecked 
by  the  battle,  while  just  beyond  was  the  line  which 
Prince  Bismark  had  drawn  upon  the  soil  of  France  as 
the  boundary  between  France  and  Germany  after  the 
war  of  1870,  a  line  which  had  been  a  bleeding  wound 
in  the  side  of  France  ever  since. 

It  is  said,  that, —  as  the  attack  was  going  on  near 
the  Forest  of  the  Advance  Guard,  the  Kaiser  and  a 
brilliant  staff  rode  upon  a  hill  near  the  river  Seille  to 
watch  the  progress  of  the  battle,  and  to  advance  into 
Xancy  at  the  head  of  his  triumphant  troops.  Clad  in 
white  uniform  and  breast-plate  of  mail,  he  was  a  thing 
of  joy  and  beauty  forever.  But  there  was  to  be  no 
triumphant  advance,  instead  a  riotous  retreat,  with  the 
disheveled  legions  cut-up,  butchered,  and  massacred  by 
the  French  machine-gun  and  rifle  fire.  The  Kaiser  had 
not  guessed  correctly  —  this  was  a  far  different  France 
from  the  France  which  Prussia  attacked  in  1870. 


260  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

The  people  of  Xancy  itself  remained  calm  during  all 
of  this  bitter  fighting,  for  they  had  been  expecting  thi^ 
very  thing  for  many  years.  The  bakers  still  made  mac- 
aroons and  the  children  still  went  to  school^  in  spite 
of  air-raids  by  Taubes  and  Zeppelins,  For  forty-six 
years  the  population  had  lived  before  the  German  fron- 
tier expecting  invasion  at  any  moment  and  thus  they 
were  well  prepared  for  just  such  happenings. 

"  Peace  will  come,  but  not  until  we  have  our  ancient 
frontier,"  said  the  people.  ''  We  must  have  Metz  and 
Strassburg  again.  We  have  waited  a  long,  long  time 
for  revenge,  and  it  must  be  ours." 

Yet  —  without  the  assistance  of  the  United  States, 
it  looked  as  if  that  day  of  revenge  were  never  to  arrive. 

It  was  the  third  week  in  August,  1914,  that  the  army 
of  de  Castelnau  crossed  the  frontier  of  Alsace-Lorraino 
and  entered  upon  German  territory,  and  it  was  a  joyful 
day  for  France  when  it  was  announced  that  the  victori- 
ous armies  had  reached  the  villages  of  Sarrebourg  and 
Morhange,  and  were  sitting  upon  the  Strassburg-Metz 
railroad.  Yet  in  Berlin  there  was  gloom  and  depres- 
sion, and  no  one  there  had  any  regard  for  the  name  of 
de  Castelnau. 

The  French  themselves  thought  so  highly  of  their 
soldier  that,  on  December  11th,  1915,  he  was  made  a 
Brigadier  General,  which  gave  him  the  position  of  Gen- 
eralissimo, and  shortly  after  this  he  was  called  by 
General  Petain  to  help  save  the  Citadel  of  Verdun. 
This  was  in  February,  1916. 

Of  Petain  and  Verdun,  you  know.  You  know  how 
Jong  and  how  strenuously  the  Germans  under  the  Crown 


DE  CASTELNAU  261 

Prince  endeavored  to  seize  this  stronghold,  and  yon 
know  how  valorously  the  French  fonght.  To  Petain 
and  Joffre  have  been  given  the  honor  of  this  stiilihorn 
resistance,  but  de  Castehiau  was  also  there,  and  he 
directed  many  a  counter-assault  against  the  lines  of  the 
enemy.  Verdun  is  now  a  wreck  —  a  pile  of  ashes  — 
but  if  future  generations  are  to  place  tablets  to  com- 
memorate the  gallant  defenders  of  the  citadels  and  forts 
they  will  do  well  to  place  the  name  of  de  Castelnau 
upon  one  of  them,  and  to  place  it  in  a  most  conspicuous 
position. 

So  proud  of  their  soldier  have  been  the  people  of 
the  town  of  Bart  that  they  have  wanted  to  replace  the 
statue  of  Liberty  there,  chiseled  by  Bartholdi,  with  one 
of  the  brave  hero  of  the  Couronne  de  Nancy,  but  so  far 
they  have  not  done  so.     Perhaps  this  may  yet  happen. 

On  September  18th,  1917,  a  delegation  of  his  town- 
folk  carried  him  a  sword,  and,  after  a  poem  had  been 
read  and  an  address  had  been  made  by  the  Mayor,  it 
was  presented  to  the  aged  hero;  a  veritable  Chevalier 
Bayard,  with  a  heart  of  steel  and  a  soul  of  crystal. 

The  gleaming  weapon  was  of  the  finest  workmanship 
and  was  quite  fit  for  a  King.  On  the  hilt  was  em- 
blazoned a  coat-of-arms  of  the  General,  with  the  inscrip- 
tion in  Latin :  "  Currens  Post  Gloriam  Semper," 
which  means  "  Always  Following  After  Glory."  This 
inscription  was  surrounded  by  a  wreath  of  laurel,  sym- 
bolic of  the  lives  of  the  de  Castelnaus. 

A  day  or  two  before  the  armistice  was  signed,  the 
prominent  man  of  war  was  named  to  command  a  group 
of  armies,  known  as  the  Army  of  the  East,  and  he  had 


262  FAMOUS  GEXERALS 

made  elaborate  preparations  to  make  a  great  attack  be- 
tween Strassburg  and  Metz.  The  armistice  saved  the 
Germans  from  sure  defeat  and  annihilation. 

The  end  of  the  Great  World  War  finds  General  de 
Castelnau  respected  and  loved  by  the  French,  and 
shortly  to  be  named  Inspector  of  Armies.  May  the 
closing  years  of  the  life  of  the  Hero  of  the  great  battles 
in  Lorraine  be  fraught  with  praise  and  honor,  for  the 
doughty  general  of  the  zealous  Poilus  has  saved  Civili- 
zation from  the  domination  of  the  hard-fisted  and  ill- 
mannered  Germans. 


THE  GRAVE  AT  NANCY 

There's  a  green-topped  hill  at  Nancy,  where  the  wind- 
blown poppies  gTow, 

There's  a  shot-torn  hill  at  Nancy,  where  the  quivering 
aspens  blow, 

There's  a  sloping  vale  at  Nancy,  where  the  limbers 
trotted  by, 

There's  a  laughing  brook  at  Nancy,  beneath  the  azure 
sky. 

The  linnets  sing  at  Nancy,  and  their  swelling  throats 

breathe  joy, 
The    chaffinch    trills    at    Nancy, —  but,    where    is    my 

darling  boy  ? 
'Neath  the  gas-seared  sod  at  Nancy,  he  lies  —  a  hero 

brave. 
On  the  green-topped  hill  at  Nancy  they  dug  his  lonely 

grave. 

There  lie  his  comrades  —  staunch  and  true  —  who  faced 

the  leaden  hail, 
There  sleep  the   soldiers  —  rank  on  rank  —  at   death 

they  didn't  quail. 
There  are  the  youthful  sons  of  France,  now  sleeping 

where  they  foil. 

There  rest  the  men  of  Alsace-Lorraine, —  they  did  their 

duty  well. 

263 


264  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

True  —  the  linnets  sing  at  Nancy  —  there's  joy  beneath 

the  sun, 
Yea  —  the   orioles   build   at   Nancy,   their   nests   with 

pleasure  spun, 
But  my  heart  lies  there  at  Nancy,  'neath  the  shell-torn, 

bleeding  sod, 
For  my  son  sleeps  there  at  Nancy, —  his  soul  rests  with 

his  God. 


JAN  SMUTS 

LEADER  OF  THE  BRITISH  FORCES 
IN  SOUTH  AFRICA 


I 


JAN  SMUTS 

LEADER  OF  THE  BRITISH  FORCES 
IN  SOUTH  AFRICA 

"  Jannie  is  for  South  Africa, 
One  and  great  and  free, 
*  But,'  he  says,  '  if  you  want  it  so, 
You  must  leave  it  all  to  me.' 

"  Jannie's  too  big  for  heaven, 

So,  at  the  last  trump's  sound, 

They'll  clear  a  space  in  a  suitable  place, 

A  special  shrine,  quite  round  — 

"  Paneled  and  tiled  with  statesmen. 

The  great  of  bygone  days, 

And  Jannie  will  tread  on  the  glorious  dead, 

And  we  shall  sing  his  praise. 

"  Jannie  will  take  the  top  note, 

The  rest  won't  sing  for  nuts, 

But   you   can   ne'er  tell,   he  may   end  in  —  well, 

Jannie  may  end  in  *  Smuts.'  " 

While  the  Allies  were  struggling  with  the  Boche  in 

Flanders  and  in  France,  the  East  African  possessions 

of  the  Germans  were  being  wrested  away  from  them 

by  the  English  and  Boer  troops,  led  by  General  Jan 

Smuts,    a   man   who   formerly   led    rebellious    soldiers 

against  the  British  flag. 

267 


268  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

Less  than  sixteen  years  ago  this  military  leader  was 
in  arms  against  Great  Britain.  Since  that  eventful  era 
he  has  held  almost  every  cabinet  position  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Union  of  South  Africa.  He  has  been  at 
different  intervals  State  Attorney  for  the  Transvaal, 
Acting  Assistant  Commandant  General,  Minister  of  the 
Interior,  Minister  of  Finance,  and  has  repeatedly  as- 
sumed the  place  of  General  Botha  —  the  Premier  — 
when  this  official  has  been  absent  on  a  tour  of  duty. 

The  Boer-Englishman  was  born  in  the  year  1870,  at 
Cape  Colony,  and  thus  first  saw  the  light  of  day  when 
united  Germany  —  under  Bismarck  and  Von  Moltke  — 
was  crushing  the  disorganized  French  forces  led  by 
Napoleon  the  Third.  I  Educated  at  Victoria  College  at 
Stellenbaseh  in  South  Africa,  and  at  Christ  Church, 
England,  he  achieved  distinction  as  a  student.  After- 
wards he  studied  law  and  applied  himself  so  diligently 
to  this  branch  of  learning  that  shortly  after  his  return 
to  Cape  Town,  when  only  twenty-eight  years  of  age, 
he  was  made  States  Attorney  under  President  Kruger. 

When  war  broke  out  with  England,  the  youthful  bar- 
rister was  an  aide  to  his  chief,  when  a  meeting  was 
held  with  the  British  Commis>;ioners  at  Bloemfontein 
which  resulted  in  war  between  Boer  and  Uitlander. 
During  the  bad  days  which  succeeded,  he  served  with 
distinction  as  a  leader  of  the  former  fighters  from  veldt 
and  mining-town.  He  learned  to  know  South  Africa 
from  the  Indian  Ocean  to  the  Atlantic  as  one  learns  a 
country  only  under  the  searching  test  of  war,  and  as  he 
himself  says  of  this  era:  ''  I  believe  it  is  generally  ad- 
mitted that  I  covered  more  country  than  any  other  com- 


JAN    SMUTS 


JAN  SMUTS  269 

mander  in  the  field,  on  either  side  —  and  my  movements 
were  not  always  in  the  direction  of  the  enemy." 

When  Germany  attacked  Trance,  in  the  present  war, 
some  one  in  the  little  village  of  Johannesburg  was  heard 
to  sing  a  ditty  which  ran: 

"  D'ye  ken   Jan    Smuts  when  he's  after  the  Hun, 
D'ye  ken  Jan  Smuts  when  he's  got  'em  on  the  inin, 
D'ye  ken  Jan  Smuts  when  he's  out  with  his  gun, 
And  his  horse  and  his  men  in  the  morning  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  ken  Jan  Smuts  and  Jourdain,  too, 
Van  der  V.  and  Sportsman  Selous, 
Springbok   and   Sikh,   for  they're   all   true  blue, 
When  they're  straffing  the  Hun  in  the  morning." 

Jan  Smuts,  in  fact,  now  General  Smuts,  if  you 
please,  was  after  the  South  African  Boche  with  as  large 
an  army  as  the  British  and  loyal  Boers  could  muster. 
The  initial  events  of  the  anti-German  campaign  were 
to  seize  the  rail-head  of  the  Tanga-Kilimanjaro  line, 
the  capture  of  the  town  of  Moshi,  and  the  threatening 
of  the  central  German  railway  from  Dar-es-Salam  to 
Tanganyika.  The  British  advanced  through  a  dense 
brush  country,  under  a  blazing  sun,  and  were  wet  by 
fearful  rains,  yet  in  spite  of  all  obstacles  they  turned 
many  positions  elaborately  prepared  by  the  Germans, 
and,  fighting  an  endless  series  of  minor  engagements, 
they  gradually  drove  the  Germans  back  to  the  interior 
of  German  East  Africa.  Within  a  year  after  the  Boche 
had  invaded  the  British  possessions  he  had  been  hustled 
out  of  them,  his  army  had  been  reduced  two-thirds  by 
death   and  capture,   and,   what  was  left   of  him,   was 


270  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

confined  to  the  southern  and  southwestern  part  of  the 
former  German  colony. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1916  the  honors  were 
clearly  with  the  Germans,  as  far  as  their  East  African 
possessions  were  concerned.  They  had  their  colony  in- 
tact, and,  as  their  Governor  von  Schnee  proclaimed, 
they  could  resist  any  reenforcements  which  the  British 
might  bring  up,  since  they  were  self-supporting.  They 
believed  that  the  tropical  climate  would  kill  oif  those 
who  wished  to  seize  their  country.  Climate,  swamp- 
land, great  distances,  and  mountains,  were  better  safe- 
guards than  either  numbers  or  munitions  of  war.  As 
they  were  on  the  initiative  and  the  British  were  on 
the  defensive,  there  was  good  cause  for  their  confidence 
in  ultimate  victory.  Their  raiding-parties  were  con- 
tinuously assaulting  the  Uganda  and  Voi-Maktau  rail- 
ways, and  they  held  a  considerable  amount  of  British 
territory  along  the  line  of  the  Lumi  River  and  in  the 
Gap  of  Kilimanjaro,  the  main  gateway  to  the  north  from 
British  East  Africa. 

East  Africa  was  the  only  colony  left  to  Germany  at 
the  beginning  of  1916,  as  that  country  had  lost  Togo- 
land,  Southwest  Africa,  and  the  Cameroons  on  the  west 
coast.  Therefore  she  was  fully  determined  to  cling  to 
her  richest  possession.  Some  of  Germany's  War  Lords 
even  dreamed  of  a  day  —  not  far  distant  —  when  Ger- 
many would  control  all  of  middle  Africa  —  Mittel- 
Africa,  as  they  called  it  —  when  it  would  have  a  popu- 
lation of  fifty  million  natives  and  half  a  million  Ger- 
mans, when  great  cities  would  have  sprung  up  on  Lake 
Chad  and  Tanganyika,  and  when  a  Lake  Chad  express 


JAN  SMUTS  271 

would  i-un  direct  from  Berlin  to  this  country.  The 
Kaiser  had  told  his  people  in  iVfrica  to  hold  out  to 
the  last,  and,  with  the  hope  that  their  armies  in  Europe 
would  force  the  English,  Erench,  and  Belgians  to  their 
knees,  the  Germans  in  East  Africa  determined  to  yield 
nothing  and  to  fight  to  the  bitter  end. 

The  Germans  were  commanded  by  von  Lettow-Vor- 
beck  —  an  ofiicer  of  the  general  staff  —  who  had  at  one 
time  been  Chief  of  Staff  in  the  Posen  district  of  Ger- 
many. He  was  a  machine-gun  specialist,  and  clearly 
saw  the  advantage  of  this  terrible  weapon  in  bush-fight- 
ing. He  had  an  abundance  of  native  troops,  the  best 
fighting  stock  in  Africa  —  Sudanese,  Somalis,  Zulus, 
and  the  Wanyamwezi,  His  men  knew  this  tangled 
country  like  a  book ;  they  were  immune  against  the 
tropical  diseases  which  beset  the  English,  and,  as  Vor- 
beck  had  no  conscience,  like  all  Germans,  he  enforced 
discipline  by  the  lash  and  chain.  Before  General  Jan 
Smuts  began  to  hammer  him  he  had  a  larger  and 
better  force  than  the  English,  and  even  after  the  arrival 
of  reenforcements  from  India,  which  were  added  to 
his  opponent's  forces,  he  had  an  army  scarcely  inferior 
to  that  in  front  of  him.  It  was  the  first  time  that  an 
English  army  fighting  in  a  tropical  wilderness  had  met 
another  army  trained  by  Europeans  and  of  intelligence 
equal  to  their  own.  The  struggle,  as  General  Smuts 
says,  was  a  "  campaign  against  Nature,  in  which  cli- 
mate, geography,  and  disease  fought  more  effectively 
against  us  than  the  well-trained  forces  of  the  enemy," 

When  General  Smuts  began  his  campaign,  large  con- 
tingents had  been  raised  in  South  Africa,  and,  apart 


272  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

from  the  troops  on  the  lakes  and  the  Ehodesia  and 
Nyasaland  forces,  there  were  two  British  Divisions  in 
the  country.  The  First  Division,  under  General 
Stewart,  was  at  Longido;  and  the  Second  Division,  un- 
der General  Tight,  was  on  the  Voi-Makatau  line.  The 
Germans  were  supposed  to  have  sixteen  thousand  men, 
of  whom  two  thousand  were  white ;  the  rest  native 
Africans.  Concentrated  in  the  Kilimanjaro  district, 
the  German  army  watched  the  oncoming  British  with 
grim  defiance  in  their  eyes.  Would  their  Kultur  be 
supreme  in  this  far  distant  land  ? 

General  Smuts  had  determined  to  "  drive  "  the  coun- 
try from  north  to  south  with  his  own  men,  while  his 
assistant,  or  subsidiary  forces,  of  British  and  Belgians 
were  to  move  eastward  from  Lake  Victoria,  from  Lake 
Kivu,  from  Tanganyika  and  Nyasa.  He  wished,  in 
fact,  to  split  the  enemy  country.  Adopting  a  plan 
which  he  knew  that  Von  Lettow  Vorbeck  would  not 
dream  that  he  would  assume,  he  flung  himself  into  the 
wilds,  trusting  to  God  for  time  to  pick  up  new  communi- 
cations as  he  proceeded.  It  was  necessary  that  he  move 
at  once,  for  the  rains  would  soon  be  coming,  and  then 
it  would  be  perfectly  impossible  to  go  on.  He  hoped  — 
as  far  as  possible  —  to  fight  upon  the  high  lands,  or, 
at  any  rate,  to  have  the  uplands  adjacent  to  his  rest 
camps  and  hospitals. 

It  was  a  bright  clear  day  in  that  South  African 
wilderness  when  the  army  of  General  Jan  Smuts  — 
splitting  into  three  divisions  —  set  out  to  push  the 
enemy  from  the  Tanga  railway,  and,  advancing  with 
elan,  the  columns  went  triumphantly  forward,  maintain- 


JAN  SMUTS  273 

ing  constant  communication  with  each  other  by  means  of 
wireless.  One  brigade  was  operating  among  the  foot- 
hills of  the  Pare  Mountains  where  all  had  formerly- 
been  a  wilderness.  Here  their  armored  ears  often 
crossed  the  tracks  of  ostriches,  elands,  gnus,  and  other 
game,  while  soldiers  occasionally  took  a  pot-shot  at  a 
lurking  hyena.  By  the  end  of  May  two  of  the  brigades 
had  converged  and  joined,  driving  before  them  a  Ger- 
man force  which  was  endeavoring  to  hold  the  railway 
between  the  mountains  and  the  river.  Just  beyond  this 
was  the  important  German  town  of  Wilhelmstal,  and  by 
the  thirteenth  of  June  this  was  occupied  by  the  South 
African  Union  troops.  The  Germans  beat  a  sullen  re- 
treat to  their  town  of  Handeni,  which  they  had  strongly 
fortified. 

Meanwhile,  the  third  British-Boer  brigade  —  or 
Union  Brigade,  as  it  was  called  —  had  been  left  at  the 
tongue-tying  town  of  Kondoa-Irangi,  where,  under  Ger- 
eral  Van  der  Venter,  an  Anglicized  Boer  and  a  hard- 
riding  cavalryman,  the  soldiers  endeavored  to  drive  out 
the  German  troops  under  General  Vorbeck,  who,  it  is 
said,  was  an  able  soldier  who  had  seen  considerable 
service  in  Germany  with  the  "  Kaiser's-  own."  This 
fellow,  in  fact,  attacked  Van  der  Venter,  and  the 
Allied  troops  were  surrounded  by  a  superior  force. 
They  suffered  from  scant  provisions,  yet  reenforccments 
came  to  their  assistance,  and  with  a  yell  the  desert- 
chasers  of  the  British-Boer  army  were  after  the  Boche. 
The  Van  der  Venter  Brigade  started  a  sweeping  move- 
ment towards  the  eastward  in  order  to  corner  the  re- 
treating Hun,  while  General  Smuts  smiled  grimly  from 


274  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

the  seat  of  his  automobile.  Horses  had  ceased  to  carry 
Generals  in  South  Africa,  as  in  la  Belle  France. 

The  Germans  held  Ilandeni.  How  were  they  to  be 
defeated  ? 

General  Smuts  was  quite  equal  to  the  occasion  and 
divided  his  forces  into  four  columns  of  about  an  equal 
size.  All  were  to  march  at  a  given  signal  and  were  to 
surround  and  converge  on  the  German  command  at 
about  the  same  time.  The  affair  was  managed  with 
clock-like  precision,  and  all  were  expecting  to  capture 
the  Boche  —  when  lo !  —  as  the  troops  arrived  —  the 
Germans  had  fled.  Xative  spies  had  warned  the 
Teutons  that  the  Allies  were  approaching,  so,  giving  up 
their  great  depot  without  firing  a  shot,  they  hurried 
backward  into  the  bush.  The  troops  under  Smuts  were 
thus  robbed  of  a  straight  victory.  Despite  the  diffi- 
culties and  the  danger  of  pressing  the  pursuit  through 
a  rough  and  desolate  country,  as  soon  as  the  Boer  scouts 
had  learned  where  the  Boche  had  gone  the  troops  were 
ordered  to  be  up  and  after  them. 

As  the  Boers  and  British  went  forward  it  was  good 
to  see  the  hearty  welcome  which  was  accorded  them 
by  the  natives  of  this  particular  colony.  The  Germans 
had  treated  the  black  men  with  very  little  respect  and 
had  seized  about  all  the  food-stuffs  that  they  could  lay 
their  hands  upon.  For  this  they  would  give  the  Aus- 
trian 20-heller  piece  in  payment.  To  the  savages  this 
was  valueless,  as  the  natives  will  not  barter  with  any 
coins  save  those  of  gold  and  of  silver. 

The  porters  and  carriers  seemed  to  melt  away  from 
the  German  camps  whenever  an  opportunity  was  offered 


JA:Nr  SMUTS  275 

them.  "  The  Germans  they  no  pay  us.  He  no  treat  lis 
fair,"  the  natives  whimpered,  and  from  this  it  can  ho 
seen  that  fair  and  honest  dealing  with  the  natives  will 
work  wonders.  If  one  is  to  retain  the  respect  and  al- 
legiance of  savages,  square-dealing  must  always  be 
maintained. 

As  the  white  men  advanced,  their  movements  were 
looked  upon  with  speechless  awe  by  the  native  black 
men.  The  aeroplane  was  called  "  the  Bird  "  by  them, 
and  was  more  dreaded  than  the  ferocious  crocodiles  in 
the  rivers.  An  aviator  descended,  one  day,  upon  the 
farm-land  of  one  of  these  black  men,  and,  as  he  stood 
near  his  machine,  the  dusky  inhabitant  of  South 
Africa  walked  towards  him,  with  hand  outstretched, 
saying : 

"  Foh  sho'  you  is  de  Lawd." 

Horses  are  virtually  unknown  in  this  part  of  the 
country,  because  of  the  stings  of  the  tsetse  fly,  and  thus 
the  natives  were  dumfounded  at  the  mounted  troops, 
calling  them  "  Kabure,"  after  the  old  mounted  troops 
of  the  Boer  army.  Bodies  of  armed  native  soldiers 
have  been  often  seen  to  throw  away  their  rifles  and  run 
for  dear  life  into  the  bush  at  first  sight  of  soldiers  on 
horse-back. 

The  British  soldiers  cannot  receive  too  high  praise 
for  their  indefatigable  purpose  in  this  campaign.  Ee- 
member  that  the  sun  was  a  tropical  one,  the  rations 
were  scanty,  and  tliey  were  tortured  by  myriads  of 
insect  pests ;  yet,  in  spite  of  heat,  fever,  mosquitoes  and 
fatigue,  they  pressed  joyfully  on.  The  motor-cyclists 
had  the  worst  duties  to  perform,  and  that  they  were 


276  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

brave  fellows  is  well  exemplified  by  the  following  story : 

One  day  as  the  Rhodesian  troops  under  Van  der  Ven- 
ter pressed  onward,  a  patrol  of  four  soldiers  came  upon 
a  white  man  who  was  apparently  lost  in  the  bush.  He 
was  temporarily  insane,  was  muttering  incoherent  sen- 
tences, was  stark  naked  save  for  a  breech  clout,  and 
was  staggering  along  a  path  used  by  the  natives.  He 
was  brought  into  camp,  where  he  was  clothed,  fed,  and 
given  a  bath.  Then  he  regained  his  proper  mind  and 
told  of  his  adventures. 

It  seems  that  he  had  been  bringing  a  dispatch  from 
General  Van  der  Venter  to  General  Northey,  and,  in 
order  to  escape  a  piece  of  sandy  soil,  where  his  wheels 
would  not  turn,  he  left  the  main  road.  He  soon  found 
himself  in  a  fearfully  wild  collection  of  bushes  and 
native  shrubs,  where  —  unfortunately  for  him  —  a  part 
of  his  machine  became  lost.  Look  as  he  would,  he  could 
not  find  it,  so  he  was  forced  to  leave  his  motorcycle  in 
the  wilderness. 

He  had  a  rifle  with  him  —  of  course  —  and  with  this 
he  shot  a  small  bird,  but  he  became  so  weak  that  he 
could  not  carry  his  piece.  He  became  weaker  and 
weaker.  He  stumbled  blindly  forward.  Then  he  lost 
consciousness  and,  when  he  woke  up,  found  himself  in 
the  hands  of  the  Rhodesian  guard. 

The  Germans,  as  we  have  said,  were  retreating,  so 
the  men  under  General  Smuts  marched  along,  as  soon 
as  the  scouts  learned  something  of  the  whereabouts  of 
the  Boche. 

On  June  23d,  secret  orders  were  given,  which 
were: 


JAN  S^IUTS  277 

"  Night  march  with  unwheeled  transport.  Guns  to 
be  carried  on  mules.     Smoking  forbidden." 

Late  in  the  afternoon  the  infantrymen,  in  long  lines, 
vanished  into  the  dim  recesses  of  the  forest,  walking 
in  Indian  file.  In  silence  they  progressed  and  early 
next  morning  scouts  brought  back  word  that  the  Ger- 
mans were  upon  an  intrenched  ridge,  protected  on  the 
flank  by  the  Lukigura  Eiver. 

A  part  of  the  English-Boer  force  was  now  deployed 
to  make  a  feint  at  the  front  of  the  works.  A  part  — 
under  General  H  ask  in  —  made  a  wide,  turning  move- 
ment. All  went  well  with  both  branches  of  the  army, 
and  by  noon  the  flank  was  carried  by  a  mixed  force  of 
fusileers  and  Kashmirs,  while  the  troops  which  had 
made  the  feint  in  the  front  repulsed  an  attempt  to 
break  across  the  river.  The  Germans  abandoned  their 
position  and  again  retreated. 
•     A  contender  in  this  affair  has  written : 

"  That  the  position  had  been  long  and  carefully  pre- 
pared by  the  Germans  '  in  case  of  accident '  was  evident 
from  the  elaborate  care  given  the  construction  of  their 
fortifications.  One  of  their  gun-pits  in  particular,  was 
a  masterpiece.  Imagine  a  trench  thirty  yards  in  length 
with  sleeping  cubicles  for  the  gunners  and  galleries 
leading  to  the  officers  dug-outs,  magazines  and  pits, 
the  whole  being  covered  with  heavy  timber  and 
earthen  mounds.  These  were  planted  with  aloes  "  all- 
alive-0,"  so  that  everything  looked  innocent  enough, 
even  in  the  case  of  aerial  reconnoissance.  Thorn 
homas  and  machine-guns  guarded  every  possible  ave- 
nue   of    approach  —  from    the    front.     The    Germans 


278  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

seemed  incapable  of  imagining  an  attack  from  any 
other  quarter." 

The  Boche,  you  see,  had  been  pretty  well  cut  into  by 
our  Jan,  and,  in  the  meanwhile,  a  great  movement  was 
made  in  the  south  by  General  Xorthey,  who  advanced 
from  the  line  between  Xake  Tanganyika  and  Nyasa, 
across  the  mountains  which  flanked  the  great  plateau  of 
German  East  Africa,  on  the  west.  It  is  a  very  moun- 
tainous region,  but  the  troops  stumbled  over  it,  clam- 
bered across  the  ridges,  took  Bismarckburg,  Neu  Lan- 
genburg,  and  Iringa,  where  they  joined  hands  with  the 
men  under  Smuts  and  Van  der  Venter.  The  Gennans 
were  now  pretty  well  disheartened. 

The  western  boundary  of  German  East  Africa  was 
protected  by  a  mountain-chain  and  a  string  of  lakes, 
which,  from  the  viewpoint  of  defense,  made  a  magnifi- 
cent frontier,  so  that  Belgian  forces  which  moved  from 
the  Congo  to  the  invasion  of  this  country  found  it  im- 
possible to  invade  the  enemy  territory  from  the  West. 
Before  the  Belgians  could  get  into  the  Boche  territory 
they  had  to  be  moved  in  a  northeasterly  direction. 
Once  up  there,  they  fell  upon  the  Boche  like  a  wolf  on 
the  fold. 

The  Belgian  column  reached  a  tovm  called  by  the 
euphonious  name  of  Kigali  and  drove  the  Germans 
everywhere  before  thom.  This  place  was  the  capital  of 
the  province  of  Kuanda,  and,  as  the  disheartened 
Teutons  foil  back  from  the  neighborhood  of  Lake  Ki^ni, 
the  rest  of  the  Belgians  advanced  from  the  west  across 
the  mountain  barrier.  At  the  same  time  a  British 
column  moved  southward  to  the  west  of  Lake  Victoria 


JAN  SMUTS  279 

Nyanza.  They  reached  the  borders  of  this  great  sheet 
of  water,  and,  joining  with  the  Belgian  troops,  a  con- 
certed advance  was  made  from  Victoria  Xyanza  and 
Tanganika.  The  Germans  had  nnmcrons  armed  ves- 
sels on  the  lake,  but  these  were  bombed  and  destroyed 
by  sea  planes.  The  Allies  swept  on  and  captured  the 
town  of  Tabora,  which  —  with  the  central  railway  — 
was  occupied  early  in  September  of  1016. 

The  Boche  was  being  pummeled  at  every  angle,  for 
in  the  far  southeastern  section  the  Portuguese  had  come 
into  action,  in  order  to  protect  their  frontier  which  lay 
along  that  of  the  Germans.  They  repulsed  two  raids 
on  Kionga  and  Unde,  and,  crossing  the  frontier,  took 
possession  of  a  wide  strip  of  German  territory  along  a 
northern  bank  of  the  river.  A  light  cruiser,  meanwhile, 
sailed  up  the  Romana  Eiver  and  detached  naval  land- 
ing parties  which  assisted  in  driving  back  the  defenders 
of  German  East  Africa.  Tt  began  to  look  as  if  there 
would  be  total  surrender  for  the  owners  of  German 
East  Africa. 

Smuts  and  Van  der  Venter  soon  were  in  action  again, 
and  it  was  to  be  the  final,  or  "  knock-out  "  blow  to 
German  supremacy  of  this  particular  part  of  the  globe. 
Van  der  Venter,  in  fact,  made  a  sudden  dash,  with  a 
mounted  column,  in  order  to  cut  the  railway  line  at 
Dodoma.  The  Germans  were  well  intrenched,  and, 
were  also  well  supplied  with  machine  guns.  Had  Van 
der  Venter  been  a  General  Buller,  he  would  have  mas- 
sacred his  men  by  attacking  in  front.  But  —  not  so. 
He  went  clean  around  the  Dutchmen  and  to  their 
rear,  so,  seeing  that  the  verdampfen  Englander  was  in 


280  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

their  front,  and  rear,  at  the  same  moment,  the  Boche 
had  to  evacuate  the  neh  and  establish  himself  across 
the  railway  in  the  rear.  He  was  now  at  the  sweet- 
sounding  town  of  Mpapua,  which  one  does  not  attempt 
to  pronounce  but  once. 

Van,  in  fact,  had  his  fighting  blood  up  and  deter- 
mined to  finish  the  German  occupation  of  East  South 
Africa  without  much  delay.  So,  having  a  firm  grip 
on  the  railway,  he  swung  eastward  again,  had  an  old- 
time  catch-as-catch-can  fight  in  the  open,  captured  that 
town  with  the  jaw-breaking  name  (]\Ipapua)  and  linked 
his  hard-riding  dragoons  with  an  advance  column  of 
General  Smuts'  sent  on  from  Mondo.  The  Germans 
were  now  in  a  hopeless  position.  Their  two  main  forces 
were  hopelessly  cut  off  from  each  other,  and  the  rem- 
nants of  the  Kaiser's  Imperial  Army  in  South  Africa 
had  to  face  the  hard  fact  that  they  were  soon  to  be 
driven  from  the  tiny  piece  of  railway  which  they  were 
clinging  to  like  leeches.  Seeing  their  last  stand,  the 
cheerful  Van  der  Venter  proceeded  to  drive  home  his 
final  blow. 

Now  was  the  closing  scene  of  this  great  drama  of 
the  veldt.  It  occurred  while  Britain  and  Germany 
were  in  a  death  agony  on  the  fields  of  Flanders. 

The  German  rear-guard  —  still  with  fight  left  in  it 
—  was  outside  the  town  of  Kilossa,  which  might  have 
better  been  named  Kirch-wasser,  after  the  favorite  drink 
of  the  German  Fatherland.  The  dare-devilish  Van  der 
Venter  rode  hard  after  this  rear-guard,  and,  attacking 
it  by  foot  and  horse,  drove  the  despairing  Germans 
towards     the     sea-coast.     Smuts  —  our     Jan  —  mean- 


JAN  SMUTS  281 

while  had  not  been  idle,  and,  following  up  this  advan- 
tage, sent  one  of  his  best  brigades  to  cooperate  with  a 
strong  naval  landing  force,  which,  on  the  sixth  day  of 
September,  entered  Dar-es-Salam  (meaning,  in  native 
South  African,  "  The  Haven  of  Peace  ").  The  Boche 
retreated  to  Moro-Moro,  and  it  proved  to  be  a  town  of 
sorrow,  even  as  is  Morro  castle  at  Havana,  for  a  short 
time  afterwards  the  entire  German  detachment  sur- 
rendered. The  stubborn  defense  of  South  Africa  had 
been  a  commendable  feat,  and  it  was  proof  of  the 
supreme  importance  which  the  German  Government 
placed  upon  the  possession  of  its  East  African  Colony. 

The  surrender  of  General  von  Lettow  Vorbeck  —  the 
German  Commander  of  East  Africa  —  with  his  com- 
mand of  about  five  thousand  Europeans  and  natives, 
took  place  upon  !N"ovember  15th,  1917.  The  General's 
army  included  four  hundred  armed  natives,  machine- 
gim  carriers,  a  medical  unit,  and  numerous  women 
who  had  followed  their  husbands  through  the  hardships 
of  years  of  campaigning.  The  entire  force  laid  down 
their  arms  on  the  Chambez  River,  near  Kasana,  Rho- 
desia. 

Formed  into  three  lines,  the  troops  of  the  German 
army  of  defense  stood  at  attention,  while  their  com- 
mander read  his  formal  surrender  to  General  Edwards 
in  charge  of  the  British  interests.  Von  Lettow  then 
ordsred  his  native  troops  to  lay  down  their  arms,  but 
the  Europeans  among  them  wpre  allowed  to  retain 
theirs  in  recognition  of  the  hard  fighting  which  they  had 
experienced.  The  natives  were  then  marched  along  to 
their  internment  camp. 


282  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

It  was  a  most  impressive  ceremonial,  for  the  sur- 
rendering legions  numbered  one  thousand  five  hundred 
and  fifty-five  Europeans,  several  hundred  natives,  and 
eight  hundred  and  nineteen  women.  The  men  were  all 
veterans  of  hundreds  of  fights  and  were  surrounded  by 
their  women,  who  were  carrying  loads  of  food  and  of 
bedding,  which  they  had  staggered  under  during  the 
entire  campaign.  Many  of  them  had  children  with 
them,  which  were  carried  on  their  backs.  The  native 
carriers  set  up  a  loud  shout  when  they  learned  that 
the  war  was  at  last  over,  and  began  to  sing  for  joy 
when  they  understood  that  their  hardships  were  behind 
them. 

General  Smuts  had  thus  aided  in  adding  a  vast 
territory  to  the  British  possessions  in  far  away  Africa. 
In  economic  value  this  region  ranks  very  high  among 
the  tropical  countries  of  the  African  continent,  for 
probably  no  portion  of  Africa  has  a  climate  or  soil  more 
suitable  to  the  production,  on  an  immense  scale,  of  copra, 
cocoanuts,  cofi'ee,  sugar,  sisal,  rubber,  cotton,  and  other 
tropical  products  than  has  this  country.  It  is  a  ma- 
larial land  and  is  full  of  wild  animals,  but  science  will 
overcome  these  drawbacks,  and  Central  and  East  Africa 
will  eventually  become  one  of  the  most  productive  and 
valuable  parts  of  the  tropics. 

General  Jan  Smuts  is  not  only  an  able  General,  but 
also  a  debater  of  the  highest  order.  His  speaking  will 
command  attention  anywhere  —  even  in  the  House  of 
Commons  —  which  once  echoed  with  the  masterful  ora- 
tory of  Burke,  of  Pitt,  of  Sheridan,  and  of  Gladstone. 
He  is  a  reserved  man  —  even  among  his  o\\ti  friends  — 


JAX  SMUTS  283 

and  never  allow?  anv  one  to  he  too  familiar  with  his 
person.  He  has  done  much  for  South  Africa  already, 
and.  if  the  colonies  captured  bv  force  from  Germany 
are  to  be  added  to  the  British  possessions  in  this  equa- 
torial country.  Jan  Smuts  must  be  ranked  with  Cecil 
Ehode?.  that  masterful  Ensrlish  colonist  who  said:  "  I 
want  to  see  all  of  South  Africa  painted  red." 


HE  WAS  FROM  MISSOURI 

You  know  the  Huns  stormed  Cambrai,  and  the  shells 

were  raining  fast, 
You  know  that  Devon  troops  were  there,  and  they  stood 

the  withering  blast, 
It  was  welter,  weltej,  welter,  and  'twas  take  cover  if  you 

please, 
Or  else  the  shrilling  whizz-bangs  will  knock  you  to  your 

knees. 

You  know  the  guns  wrecked  Cambrai, —  as  Von  Hin- 

denberg  advanced, 
Away   out   near   the   farthest   walls,    a   single   battery 

pranced. 
The  shells  were  raining  all  around  —  they  kicked  up 

mud  and  dirt. 
While   the   Sergeant   yelled   out :     "  Steady,    Lads,   or 

someone  will  be  hurt." 

Just  then  an  H.  E.  lumbered  in  —  it  threw  an  awful 

mess. 
It  scattered  fragments  yards  around,  it  made  the  wheels 

"  right  dress," 
It  knocked  down  men  and  non-coms  and  it  tore  the  mules 

to  bits. 
That  is  —  all  but  one  flea-bit  brown,  with  broad  ears 

like  two  mits. 

284 


HE  WAS  FROM  MISSOURI       285 

The  concussion  rolled  him  on  his  side  —  but  he  quickly 

scrambled  up, 
And,  opening  wide  his  massive  jaws,  he  sizzled  like  a 

"  Hup," 
Then,  collecting  his  extremities,  like  the  nag  of  the  One 

Hoss  Shay, 
He  out-roared  the  grim  and  thundering  guns,  with  a 

withering,  piercing  bray. 

"  You  can't  kill  me.  Mister  Kaiser,"  spake  the  mule  of 

Battery  Five, 
"  For  I  come  from  old  Missouri,  and  I'm  the  vintage 

of  '55, 
I've  drunk  of  Missouri  water,  where  the  mud  is  five  feet 

thick, 
And  I've  ranged  in  Texas  typhoons,  which  chill  you  to 

the  quick. 

"  I've  wintered  in  Montana,  where  the  thermometer 
hit  the  ground, 

I've  summered  up  Alaska  way,  whore  the  Kadiak  boars 
are  found, 

I've  swum  the  old  Platte  River,  when  the  buffalo  still 
were  there, 

And  I've  ranged  the  steppes  of  Texas,  when  the  cow- 
kings  were  on  the  tear. 

"  I  was  mistaken  for  a  wartrhog  once,  and  was  sold  to 

Armour's  plant. 
And  when  they  ran  me  through  the  mill,  you  can  bet 

my  hair  was  scant. 


286  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

But  I  chipped  up  their  machinery,  put  their  cog-wheels 

on  the  blink, 
And  I  came  out  on  the  other  end  —  and  gave  the  gang 

the  wink. 

"  I  was  in  the  charge  at  Gettysburg,  just  at  the  Clump 
of  Trees, 

I  scrambled  on  the  Eound  Tops  when  Grimes'  Battery- 
began  to  wheeze, 

I  was  down  the  Shenandoah  when  Phil  Sheridan  rode 
past, 

And,  I  tell  you,  Boys,  that  when  he  came,  he  sure  was 
riding  fast. 

"  I  was  in  the  charge  at  San  Juan  Hill,  where  the 

shells  were  raining  hard, 
And  I  was  on  the  old  ship  Texas,  when  they  nailed 

Cervera  to  the  yard, 
I  was  in  the  fight  at  Elaandslaagte,  with  French  and  his 

dragoons, 
I  was  behind  the  lines  at  Bloemfontein,  in  those  bright. 

South  Afric  moons. 

"  I  was  w^ith  Kitchener  at  Khartoum,  when  we  ran  the 

Mahdi  down, 
And  I  spent  a  year  at  the  pyramids,  midst  the  wastes  of 

the  desert  brown. 
I  was  at  the  Belief  of  Lucknow,  and  I  carried  the  King 

of  Siam, 
I  was  at  the  fall  of  Port  Arthur,  when  they  gave  the 

Russians  the  slam. 


HE  WAS  FROM  MISSOURI       287 

"  I'm  as  old  as  Old  Methusaleh,  and  I'm  as  tough  as 

Bessemer  steel, 
I'm  as  lean  as  a  wild  hyena,  and  as  slick  as  a  banana 

peel, 
I'm  all  wool  and  a  yard  wide,  I'm  as  wise  as  Mahomet 

of  Ess, 
And  if  the  Germans  think  I'm  dead  —  why,  they've 

got  another  guess." 

Just  then,  with  a  roar  that  was  awful,  a  big  shell  hit 

the  sod, 
And  all  looked  askance,  as  this  mule  did  prance  —  for 

they  thought  that  he'd  gone  to  his  God, 
But  Old  Missouri  gave  the  "  Haw !  Haw,"  he  turned 

and  switched  his  tail, 
And  walked  away,  with  a  contemptuous  bray,  perfectly 

sound  and  hale. 


SIR  JULIAN  H.  BYNG 

THE  MAN  WHO  LED  THE  SMASH 
AT  CAMBRAI 


SIR  JULIAN  H.  BYNG 

THE  MAN"  WHO  LED  THE  SMASH 
AT  CAMBKAI 

THE  man  who  led  the  big  British  drive  at  Cambrai 
is  a  man  whom  all  the  Canadians  have  a  great 
respect  for.  "  Bingo  "  Byng  they  call  him,  and 
he  is  such  a  strict  disciplinarian  that  he  makes  all  the 
men  polish  the  backs  of  their  buttons,  as  well  as  the  nails 
on  their  boots.  In  the  British  army  he  was  well  known 
before  this  exploit,  for  he  had  been  in  the  service  for 
thirty  years  when  he  landed  in  Belgium,  in  October, 
1914,  as  Commander  of  the  Third  Cavalry  Division. 
He  covered  the  Belgian  retreat  from  Antwerp  to  Ypres, 
together  with  General  Rawlinson,  with  the  Seventh 
Cavalry  Division,  and  he  did  it  well. 

General,  the  Honorable  Sir  Julian  Hedworth  Byng 
—  if  you  please  —  K.C.B.,  C.M.G.,  is  the  seventh  son 
of  the  Earl  of  Stafford.  As  a  young  man  he  entered 
the  army  with  a  commission  in  the  10th  Hussars,  and 
with  that  famous  regiment  he  served  in  the  Soudanese 
campaign  in  1884.  He  won  distinction  in  the  South 
African  war,  where  he  was  promoted  to  be  colonel  of 
the  regiment.  In  1902-1904  he  commanded  the  regi- 
ment, and,  after  that,  became  the  head  of  the  Cavalry 
School  at  Netheravor,  Salisbury  Plain.     Made  a  major- 

291 


292  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

general  in  1900,  he  has  been  a  divisional  commander 
since  1914. 

Ask  any  one  about  "  Bingo  "  Byng,  and  they  will 
tell  you :  "  He's  a  fine  soldier,  a  sportsman,  and  a 
gentleman,  to  boot.  He  knows  his  business  thoroughly, 
and  he  can  lead  cavalry  like  a  true  fox-hunter." 

That's  about  what  an  English  general  should  be, — 
a  sportsman,  a  clean  fellow  through  and  through,  and 
a  Christian  gentleman. 

General  Byng  was  married  in  1902  to  Miss  Marie 
Evelyn  Moreton,  a  well-known  novelist,  and  he  is  the 
grandson  of  the  first  Earl  of  Stafford,  a  noted  Field 
Marshal.  A  historical  cloud  rested  upon  the  name  of 
B}Tig  for  many  years,  for  in  1756  Admiral  John  Byng 
was  appointed  to  command  a  hastily  equipped  squadron 
of  ten  ships  sent  to  the  relief  of  Minorca,  which  was 
blocked  by  a  Ereneh  fleet. 

The  Admiral  fought  an  unsatisfactory  battle  from 
the  British  standpoint,  and  was  accused  of  hesitation  in 
attacking  the  enemy  fleet.  Public  indignation  was 
great  against  him,  he  was  tried  by  court-martial  and 
was  found  to  be  guilty  of  treason  to  his  native  land. 
Though  recommended  to  mercy,  the  ministry  then  in 
power  insisted  upon  the  extreme  penalty.  He  was  con- 
sequently shot  by  a  firing  squad  on  the  war- 
ship Monarch,  at  Portsmouth,  March  14th,  1757. 

Thus  for  more  than  a  century  and  a  half  a  cloud 
has  clung  over  the  memory  of  this  seaman.  The  gen- 
eral verdict  of  the  English  historians  is  that  the  exe- 
cution of  Admiral  Byng  was  a  case  of  undue  severity, 
and,  after  a  calm  review  of  the  circumstances  in  the 


SIR   JULIAN    H.    BYNG 


SIR  JULIAN  H.  BYNG  293 

case,  his  worst  fault  seems  to  have  been  that  he  was 
too  cautious.  No  one  would  accuse  him  now  of  being 
a  traitor. 

In  spite  of  this  shadow  which  has  hung  over  the 
name  of  Byng  for  a  hundred  and  sixty  years,  that 
name  to-day  is  as  noted  as  any  in  the  annals  of  British 
warfare.  The  brilliant  assault  at  Cambrai  has  cleared 
away  the  cloud  which  besmirched  the  name  of  our  Gen- 
eral for  such  a  long  period  of  time.  This  once  hated 
name  is  now  on  every  lip,  for  *'  Bingo  "  Byng  was  the 
man  who  led  the  smash  at  Cambrai. 

"  Bingo's  "  Third  Division  was  a  part  of  the  Cavalry 
Brigade  —  under  Allenby  —  which  held  the  southern 
half  of  the  salient  during  the  first  battle  of  Ypres. 
In  May  of  1915  General  Byng  succeeded  General 
Allenby  (sent  to  capture  elerusalem)  in  command  of 
the  Cavalry  Corps,  and  in  this  position  fought  through 
the  battle  of  Ypres.  In  the  summer  of  1915  he  was 
given  the  Ninth  Corps  at  the  Dardanelles,  where  he 
stayed  until  the  expedition  was  withdrawn.  Thus,  in 
February,  1916,  he  came  back  to  France  and  here  he 
was  placed  in  command  of  the  Canadian  Corps,  which 
then  formed  part  of  Sir  Herbert  Gough's  Fifth  Army, 
and  which  figured  continuously  in  the  desperate  fighting 
on  Thiepval  Ridge.  As  part  of  the  Third  Army  — 
under  General  Home  —  General  Byng  and  the  Ca- 
nadians were  moved  north  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Vimy  Ridge  in  the  fall  of  1916.  Byng's  Canadians 
took  Vimy  Ridge. 

General  French  well  recognized  the  merit  of 
"  Bingo  "  Byng,  for,  when  his  cavalry  division  fell  back 


294  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

before  Ypres,  protecting  the  Belgian  withdrawal,  these 
troops  stopped  the  Germans  in  their  march  to  the  sea. 
In  the  official  reports  of  the  time,  General  French  says 
that  the  troops  under  General  Byng  were  repeatedly 
called  upon  to  restore  situations  at  critical  moments  and 
to  fill  gaps  in  the  line  caused  by  the  tremendous  losses 
which  occurred.  In  recognition  of  his  work  at  that 
time,  Bingo  was  made  a  Knight  Commander  of  Sir 
Michael  and  St.  George. 

When  they  first  went  to  Europe  the  Canadian  troops 
were  ineffective,  because  they  did  not  sufficiently  ap- 
preciate the  value  of  rigid  and  punctilious  discipline. 
They  were  full  of  courage  and  initiative  —  too  much, 
in  fact  —  but  these  qualities,  to  have  military  value 
must  be  subordinate  to  discipline.  When  they  learned 
by  bitter  experience  that  to  be  foolhardy  was  foolish- 
ness, and  when  they  welcomed  stern  discipline,  they 
came  to  be  the  most  effective  troops  in  the  line. 
"  Bingo  "  Byng  taught  them  their  discipline.  Their 
lack  of  caution  taught  them  to  be  more  cautious,  for 
thousands  were  killed  by  undue  exposure  to  the  elements. 

"  Byng  was  in  charge  at  Vimy  Ridge,"  an  official 
remarked,  "  and  he  certainly  ran  the  show  well." 

But  what  of  Vimy  ?  Vimy  Ridge  stood  between  the 
British  army  and  the  town  of  Douai,  with  Lens  on 
the  left  and  BuUecourt  upon  the  right.  It  was  well 
fortified  and  was  held  by  German  picked  troops,  but 
the  Canadians  said  ''  thou  shalt  go  backward,  even  to- 
wards Valenciennes." 

Consequently  —  under  the  eye  and  direction  of  Gen- 
eral Byng  —  they  attacked  the  Boche,  went  over  the  top 


SIR  JULIAN  H.  BYNG  295 

in  wave  after  wave,  and  near  tlie  dun-colored  ridges  of 
this  line  of  defense  thousands  of  brave  Canadian  youths 
gave  up  their  lives.  Vimv  Eidge  —  vengeful,  gas-dis- 
torted, reddened  with  blood  of  both  attacker  and  de- 
fender, stood  there  beaten  to  a  yellow  pulp  by  the  shells 
of  the  guns.  It  was  a  savage,  vengoful  affair,  and  when 
all  was  over  Vimy  had  been  captured,  but  solid  German 
legions  stood  between  the  British  army  and  the  border. 

The  English  kept  up  the  hammer,  hammer,  hammer 
in  1916.  They  took  Passchendaele,  and  the  third  battle 
of  Ypres  drew  to  a  close,  but  so  great  had  been  the 
losses  that  gloom  and  sorrow  hung  over  all  England. 

"  When  T  read  of  the  conditions  under  which  my  men 
fought,"  said  the  Prime  Minister  of  England,  "  I  marvel 
that  the  delicate  and  sensitive  instrument  of  the  human 
mind  can  endure  them  without  derangement.  The 
campaigns  of  Stonewall  Jackson  fill  us  with  admiration 
and  with  wonder  as  we  read  how  that  man  of  iron  led 
his  troops  through  the  mire  and  swamps  of  Virginia ; 
but  his  troops  were  never  called  upon  to  live  for  days 
and  nights  in  morasses  under  ceaseless  thunderbolts 
from  a  powerful  artillery  and  then  march  into  battle 
through  an  engulfing  quagmire  under  a  hailstorm  of 
machine-gun  fire." 

It  was  N'ovember,  1916,  and  the  troops  were  weary 
and  played  out,  but  they  had  to  face  more  battle,  for 
large  forces  had  been  brought  from  Russia  to  strengthen 
the  German  line,  and  it  was  important  that  some  diver- 
sion should  be  created  in  this  sector  to  relieve  the  pres- 
sure from  Italy  struggling  upon  the  Piave. 

The  British  Commander-in-Chief,  Sir  Douglas  Haig, 


296  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

decided  upon  attack,  and,  looking  around,  he  found  that 
the  sector  of  the  Siegfried  Line,  which  lay  in  front  of 
Havincourt  Wood,  between  the  Baupaume-Camhrai 
road,  on  the  Scheldt  canal,  offered  an  excellent  field  for 
attempting  to  push  through  the  Boche.  It  was  a  dry 
and  open  country  in  which  tanks  could  operate,  and 
it  was  a  sector  which  was  thinly  held  by  the  enemy. 
If  Bourlon  could  be  won,  the  canal  crossed,  and  a  de- 
fensive flank  established  in  the  direction  of  Rumilly, 
the  English  army  would  command  all  the  approaches  to 
the  main  Arras-Cambrai  road,  and  would  take  in  the 
rear  all  of  the  enemy  positions  in  the  Sensee  Valley. 

Tanks  were  to  be  relied  upon  to  break  through  the 
enemy's  wire  netting,  and  six  infantry  divisions  were 
to  advance  on  a  six-mile  front,  supported,  as  much  as 
possible,  by  the  guns  shooting  over  the  heads  of  the 
men.  There  was  to  be  no  preliminary  bombardment  to 
warn  the  enemy  of  impending  attack. 

The  German  Second  Army  was  opposite  the  British 
troops  at  this  point,  and,  under  the  able  von  der  Mar- 
witz,  had  three  divisions  in  line  and  three  in  reserve. 
Sir  Edmund  Allenby  had  commanded  the  British  Third 
Army,  now  prepared  for  the  advance  in  this  sector, 
but,  being  transferred  to  Palestine,  it  was  placed  under 
"  Bingo "  Byng.  On  the  six-mile  front  he  had  six 
divisions  in  line,  in  the  Bullecourt  area,  two  divisions. 
At  his  disposal  —  as  a  mounted  force  —  were  the  1st, 
2d,  4th  and  5th  Cavalry  Divisions.  A  flotilla  of  tanks 
was  assembled  from  every  possible  place,  and  many 
were  hidden  in  the  dense  undergrowth.  Had  but  a 
single  enemy  aeroplane  hovered  over  Havrincourt  woods 


SIR  JULIAN  H.  BYNG  297 

it  would  have  been  all  over  with  the  plan  of  attack. 
The  British  knew  full  well,  and  "  Bingo "  knew  it 
also,  that,  had  the  enemy  suspected  an  overwhelming 
smash,  the  front  would  have  been  simply  honeycombed 
with  mines,  and  each  regiment  —  as  it  advanced  — 
would  have  been  blown  to  smithereens. 

It  was  the  month  of  I^ovember,  and  the  skies  were 
sodden  and  gray,  the  sun  hidden  by  banks  of  misty 
mirage.  The  weather  favored  Sir  Julian  Byng  with 
his  Canadians  and  hard-hitting  British.  November 
20th  dawned  with  heavy  clouds  overshadowing  the  sun, 
which  struggled  to  peep  down  upon  the  array  of  khaki- 
clad  soldiery  waiting  grimly  for  the  word  to  advance. 
Hah!  At  length  it  came  —  a  deep  boom  of  a  solitary 
piece  —  it  spoke  at  exactly  twenty  minutes  past  six 
o'clock  —  and,  as  its  reverberations  died  out  upon  the 
still  air,  a  long  line  of  tanks  crept  out  in  the  mist,  to 
the  attack.  They  looked  like  prehistoric  monsters  out 
for  the  morning's  meal,  and  they  snorted  as  they 
rumbled  across  the  plowed  fields. 

Now  —  boom  —  boovi  —  roar  —  roar  —  the  British 
artillery  broke  loose  with  a  horrid  din,  shelling  the 
Siegfried  line  with  an  appalling  drenching  of  both 
iron,  lead,  and  gas.  But  —  look !  —  rank,  upon  rank  ; 
line  upon  line  —  the  Canadian  and  British  troops 
marched  on  to  the  assault,  silently,  grimly,  briskly, — 
never  had  this  quiet  countryside  seen  such  an  array  of 
stalwart  men. 

The  Germans  were  apparently  unaware  that  the 
English  were  coming  on,  and  they  were  taken  by  sur- 
prise.    At    Epehy    and    Bullecourt    the    assault    was 


298  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

laimclied,  even  as  at  the  line  from  Scarpe  to  St.  Quentin. 
The  tanks  bustled  into  the  barbed-wire  and  cut  great 
lanes  in  this  —  thej  broke  up  the  machine-gun  nests 
and  the  men  inside  enfiladed  the  trenches ;  and  the  tanks 
rumbled  on,  as  line  after  line  of  infantr^Tuen  followed 
and  broke  the  supposedly  impregnable  defense  of  Ger- 
man Kultur. 

The  main  Siegfried  line  gave  completely  away,  and 
it  was  not  long  before  the  fighting  was  among  the 
tunnels  of  the  reserve  Siegfried  line,  some  mile  and 
a  half  to  the  rear.  By  half  past  ten  o'clock  this  line, 
also,  had  been  broken,  and,  with  the  cavalry  close  be- 
hind them,  the  British  triumphantly  advanced  towards 
Cambrai  in  open  country.  Everywhere  the  Germans 
were  retreating  —  everywhere  they  seemed  to  be  van- 
quished, so  "  Bingo  "  Byng  smiled  grimly  as  he  looked 
over  this  land  of  desolation  with  his  field-glasses. 

The  cavalry  was  fighting  gamely  —  in  close  alliance 
with  the  infantry  —  the  1st  Cavalry  Division  being  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  battleground,  the  5th  Cavalry 
Division  in  the  south.  They  moved  forward,  lustily, 
took  the  towns  of  Cantaing  and  Anneux,  and  pushed  as 
far  as  the  river,  where  the  bridge  at  Masnieres  was 
destroyed  so  that  they  could  not  cross.  Had  the  entire 
body  of  hard  riders  been  able  to  get  across  at  the 
enemy  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  would  have  taken 
Cambrai,  but  such  was  not  to  be  the  case.  South  of 
Masnieres  a  temporary  bridge  was  constructed  across  the 
stream,  and,  by  means  of  this,  one  squadron  of  the 
Fort  Garry  Horse,  belonging  to  General  Seely's  Ca- 
nadian Brigade  of  the  5th  Cavalry  Division,  crossed, 


SIR  JULIAN  H.  BYNG  299 

broke  through  the  Beaiivoir-Masnieres  line,  charged 
and  captured  a  spitting  German  battery,  and  fell  back 
after  nearly  all  of  the  horses  had  been  either  killed  or 
wounded.  It  was  a  day  fraught  with  success  for  the 
British  cause.  Yet  —  as  the  horse  was  unable  to  get 
over  the  river  —  its  chance  to  make  a  big  drive  had 
passed,  for  the  Boche  hurried  up  reenforcements  to 
this  part  of  the  line. 

The  battle  was  to  continue  for  many  days  and  this 
was  just  the  beginning  of  trouble. 

"  Bingo  "  Byng  still  smiled,  and  said: 

"  Whale  them,  boys,  and  get  through  to  Cambrai. 
It  can  be  done." 

Next  day  the  rain  fell  steadily  and  the  battle-ground 
was  a  veritable  sea  of  mud.  Yet  on  plunged  the  valiant 
British  and  Canadians,  on,  on,  ever  on,  while  the 
machine-gims  spat  at  them  like  angry  cats.  At  day- 
break the  guns  began  to  roar  and  groan,  at  eleven  o'clock 
the  final  German  line  had  been  breached  to  the  north 
of  Masnieres.  The  village  of  Flesquires  —  a  typical 
little  sleepy  French  town  —  fell  before  the  charging 
English  —  the  enemy  counter-attacking  near  Rumilly  in 
a  vain  attempt  to  stem  the  victorious  advance.  On  the 
right,  the  village  of  Les  Eues  des  Vignes  was  taken, 
but  the  Boche  was  determined  and  bold  —  he  retook  it 
with  awful  loss  of  life.  Men  were  haggard  and  wan, 
but  they  had  their  battle  ire  up  and  were  hot  for  the 
fray.  The  Highlanders  pressed  on  to  the  edge  of 
Bourlon  Wood,  and,  late  in  the  evening  —  after  a  ter- 
rific battle  —  took  the  village  of  Fontaine-Notre-Dame, 
on  the  Baupaume  road. 


300  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

In  front  was  Bourlon  Wood  —  green-gray  —  silent 
—  ominously  drab.  Filled  with  machine-guns,  when- 
ever a  regiment  approached  a  belching  sheet  of  steel 
shot  from  its  underbrush.  A  few  tanks  crept  into  this 
woodland  Hades,  only  to  be  captured  by  the  Boche,  who 
was  here  in  force.  And,  as  night  fell  upon  attackers 
and  attacked,  the  sun  shone  red  in  the  West;  red  with 
the  hate  and  lust  of  war. 

Another  day  dawned  —  another  day  of  struggle  and 
death  —  as  the  rumbling  guns  woke  the  stillness  of  the 
mom,  "  Bingo"  Byng  again  said: 

"  Boys,  on !  —  Cambrai  must  be  taken !  " 

Sir  Douglas  Haig,  viewing  what  had  been  won,  cried 
out: 

"  To-morrow  we  must  seize  the  heights  of  Bourlon." 

That  day  was  spent  in  rearranging  the  line  —  pre- 
paring, as  it  were,  for  what  was  to  follow.  The  Boche 
attacked  at  Fontaine-Notre-Dame  and,  after  a  spirited 
affair,  were  driven  out.  Streams  of  wounded  went  to 
the  rear,  and  as  they  passed  the  men  cheered  them. 

Another  day  of  battle  dawned  and  the  roar  of  the 
artillery  awoke  the  sleeping  soldiers.  They  rose  to 
their  feet,  prepared  for  the  charge,  and,  breathing  a 
prayer,  sped  over  the  trenches  in  the  direction  of  Bour- 
lon Wood.  The  40th  Division  attacked  the  forest,  line 
upon  line  —  wave  upon  wave  —  up  and  on  they  clam- 
bered, capturing  machine-gun  nests,  driving  out  the 
Boche  sharpshooters  entering  the  town  of  Bourlon  it- 
self. The  Germans  counter-attacked  —  it  was  the 
famous  Guards  Division  —  but  they  could  not  force 
back  the  strenuous  Canadians,  Australians,  and  British. 


SIR  JULIAN  H.  BYNG  301 

Dead  and  dying  lay  on  every  side  —  ambulance  trains 
of  wounded  hurried  to  the  rear,  yet  the  guns  boomed  on 
with  their  grumbling  salvos,  and  the  English  pressed 
ever  forward;  cheering,  fighting,  bleeding,  pushing. 

We  think  that  Gettysburg  was  a  battle  because  it 
lasted  for  four  days,  but  what  of  this  affair  —  it  lasted 
for  sixteen  ? 

We  thought  that  Waterloo  was  a  fierce  fight,  but  it 
only  lasted  for  one  day. 

We  had  an  idea,  perhaps,  that  Missionary  Ridge, 
Bull  Run  number  two,  Sedan,  Ramilles,  Fontenoy,  Cul- 
loden,  Salamis,  Saratoga,  Spion  Kop,  Elandslaagte, 
were  real,  true  battles  —  they  were  child's  play  com- 
pared to  this  one.  This  one  still  continued,  although 
the  losses  on  both  sides  were  already  stupendous. 

And  how  about  our  old  friend  "  Bingo  "  B\Tig? 

The  General  still  stared  stolidly  in  front,  and  said: 

'^  We  are  doing  extremely  well.     Cambrai  will  fail." 

Another  day  dawned  —  a  gray,  bleak,  misty  day,  the 
sun  struggling  through  a  pall  of  sulphurous  vapor  and 
murky  mist.  Roar  —  roar  —  roar  —  the  guns  were 
again  at  it,  while  silently,  slowly,  the  dust-stained  le- 
gions again  formed  for  the  assault.  Silently,  slowly 
the  divisions,  supported  by  tanks,  made  for  Fontaine 
and  Bourlon  —  the  whole  ridge  must  be  secured.  Fire 
and  death  spat  into  their  faces,  gas  and  flame  was  poured 
upon  them,  yet  on,  on  they  went  and  back,  back  fell  the 
Boche.  Hurrah !  Bourlon  ridge  was  at  last  gained  in 
the  center,  while  on  the  left  the  16th  Division  had  won 
the  ground  of  the  Siegfried  Line  northwest  of  Bourlon. 
Sixty  square  miles  of  territory  had  been  wrested  from 


302  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

tlie  Germans  and  ten  thousand  five  hundred  prisoners 
had  been  captured.  The  Kaiser  was  worried  as  the 
news  came  to  him  in  far  distant  Berlin.  Cambrai  would 
fall  if  he  did  not  look  out. 

The  English  now  held  a  salient  formed  like  a  rough 
rectangle,  some  ten  miles  wide  and  six  miles  deep.  The 
enemy  saw  the  weakness  of  this  line  pushed  into  him  like 
an  arrow  and  he  hurried  up  reenforcements  for  a  coun- 
ter-stroke. Meanwhile  bells  of  joy  were  pealing  out  in 
England  and  people  were  congratulating  each  other, 
for  the  British  army  was  still  advancing. —  True  —  it 
was  advancing,  but  with  what  an  awful  sacrifice  of  life ! 

A  bespectacled  German  General,  named  von  der  Mar- 
witz,  issued  —  next  morning  —  the  following  order  to 
his  troops: 

"  The  English,  by  throwing  into  the  fight  countless 
tanks  on  the  20th  of  November,  gained  a  victory  near 
Cambrai.  Their  intention  was  to  break  through;  but 
they  did  not  succeed,  thanks  to  the  brilliant  resistance  of 
our  troops.  We  are  now  going  to  turn  their  embryonic 
victory  into  a  defeat  by  an  encircling  counter-attack. 
The  Fatherland  is  watching  you  and  expects  every  man 
to  do  his  duty." 

The  Germans  cheered  at  this,  but  they  had  to  look 
cheerful  or  else  their  officers  would  strafe  them. 

Everywhere  in  the  British  front  the  warning  was 
given  that  the  Germans  were  preparing  a  counter-thrust, 
for  the  planes  had  seen  vast  reenforcements  coming  up. 
Special  patrols  were  sent  out  to  watch  for  signs  of  the 
enemy  advance  and  additional  machine-guns  were  placed 
to  secure  supporting  points,  w^hile  reserves  were  brought 


SIR  JULIAN  H.  BYNG  303 

up  near  the  line.  Bourlon  Ridge  was  held,  hut  Byng 
knew  that  the  Germans  wanted  it  hack,  that  they  would 
use  desperate  means  to  secure  it. 

Twenty-four  fresh  German  divisions  were  hurried  up 
by  General  Ludendorf  to  wipe  out  this  British  advance. 
Addressing  the  soldiers  himself,  he  told  them  to  drive 
back  the  English  —  to  drive  them  back  to  the  sea  —  if 
they  could  do  so. 

It  was  again  morning  —  this  time  the  morning  of 
November  30th.  The  sun  was  still  obscured  by  clouds 
of  murky  vapor,  while  the  dull  banks  of  mist  blew  across 
the  battle  lines  like  a  death  pall.  Boom !  A  signal  gun 
spoke  from  the  hostile  lines,  and  then  a  hell  of  gas 
and  flame  spat  and  flared  at  the  intrenched  British  and 
Canadians.  Bank  u.pon  rank,  file  upon  file,  the  German 
troops  were  hurled  upon  the  British  position,  and,  hid- 
den by  a  fog,  they  advanced  without  being  seen  until 
they  were  close  to  the  line. 

From  the  north  end  of  the  Bonvais  Ridge  to  Gonne- 
lieu,  and  from  Gonnelieu  to  Guilslain  and  Vendhuille, 
the  British  line  was  overwhelmed  by  stupendous  num- 
bers of  gray-clad  Teutons.  Back  they  pressed  them,  in 
spite  of  spitting  batteries  and  stubborn  Highlanders. 
The  advance  could  not  be  stayed :  the  batteries  at  LaVac- 
querie  were  taken  by  cheering  Huns  —  the  first  British 
guns  to  fall  since  the  battle  of  Ypres  —  and  at  9  a.  m. 
the  exultant  followers  of  the  Kaiser  were  in  the  village 
of  Gouzeancourt. 

The  situation  was  grave. 

Yet  "  Bingo  "  Byng  was  whistling,  for  he  knew  that 
the  British  were  always  better  rear-guard  fighters  than 


304  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

dashing  onward  pushers.  It  was  characteristic  of  the 
English  to  be  stubborn  in  reverse  action.  Therefore, 
why  not  whistle  ? 

"  Hold  them,  Britishers !  "  he  cried. 

It  was  midday  when  the  Guards  came  into  action  west 
of  Gouzeancourt,  with  the  Fifth  Cavalry  Division  on 
their  right  towards  Villiers  Guislain.  The  Germans 
were  driven  from  the  shattered  town  with  fearful 
slaughter ;  they  retreated,  fighting  every  inch  of  the  way, 
and,  for  the  rest  of  the  day  there  was  a  sangiiinary  strug- 
gle for  the  Gauche  Wood  on  the  St.  Quentin  Ridge. 

The  front  was  held  by  the  2nd,  oGth,  and  47th  Di- 
visions and  against  them  was  hurled  the  Teutonic  might 
—  wave  after  wave.  West  of  Bourlou  Wood  they  thrust 
fiercely  and  the  fighting  was  most  severe.  Almost 
shoulder  to  shoulder  the  Germans  kept  coming  on,  and 
hand-tohand  conflicts  were  common.  The  day  was 
starred  with  deeds  of  heroism.  The  dead  fairly  lit- 
tered the  ground,  piled  one  over  the  other  like  sardines. 
An  incident  of  the  battle  is  well  worth  remembering, 
for  it  shows  of  what  stern  and  stubborn  stuff  the  Eng- 
lish are  made : 

"  Between  Moeuvres  and  the  Canal  du  Nord  a  com- 
pany of  the  13th  Essex  and  of  the  2nd  Division  found 
itself  isolated.  After  maintaining  a  splendid  and  suc- 
cessful resistance  throughout  the  day,  whereby  the  pres- 
sure upon  the  main  line  was  greatly  relieved,  at  4  p.  m. 
this  company  held  a  council  of  war,  and  unanimously 
determined  to  fight  until  the  last  and  to  have  '  no  sur- 
render.'    Two  runners,  who  were  sent  to  announce  this 


SIR  JULIAN  H.  BYNG  305 

decision  to  Battery  Headquarters,  succeeded  in  getting 
through  to  our  lines,  and  delivered  the  message.  Dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  the  afternoon  and  far  into  the  night 
this  gallant  company  was  heard  fighting,  and  there  is 
little  room  for  doubt  that  they  carried  the  heroic  reso- 
lution out  to  a  man.  When,  two  days  later,  the  post 
was  regained,  such  a  heap  of  German  dead  lay  in  and 
around  them  that  the  bodies  of  our  own  men  were  hid- 
den." 

The  English  were  awfully  resolute.  Cooks,  orderlies, 
runners,  and  signalers  joined  in  the  defense  of  their 
position,  and,  before  the  fierce  defense  of  the  British 
troops,  the  German  assault  waves  finally  broke  and  fled, 
leaving  immense  heaps  of  dead.  The  evening  hush  fell 
upon  fields  of  groaning  wounded. 

But  the  battle  had  not  yet  closed.  December  1st 
found  the  English  themselves  willing  to  advance,  and 
so  the  Guards  made  an  attack  at  the  St.  Quentin  Kidge 
—  capturing  it  and  also  the  town  of  Gonnelieu.  Far- 
ther south,  with  the  aid  of  the  dismounted  Ambala 
brigade  of  Indian  cavalry,  they  took  Gauche  Wood,  but 
failed  to  take  the  village  of  Villiers  Guislain.  The  Di- 
vision at  Masnieres  beat  off  nine  separate  German  at- 
tacks. Yet,  under  pressure  from  the  Boche  several 
regiments  were  withdrawn  backwards,  and,  on  Decem- 
ber 3,  the  enemy  won  ground  north  and  west  of  Gon- 
nelieu. The  Boche  also  took  the  village  of  La  Vacque- 
rie,  while  the  English  were  withdrawn  from  the  Scheldt 
Canal  and  were  carried  over  to  the  west  bank.  The 
fight  was  about  over. 


306  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

It  was  the  fourth  day  of  December,  and  Sir  Douglas 
Haig  said: 

"  The  line  must  be  shortened." 

"  Bingo  "  Byng  hastened  to  obey  him,  and  from  the 
fourth  to  the  seventh  the  troops  were  moved  so  as  to 
present  a  better  front  to  the  exultant  Germans.  The 
fresh  British  line  lay  along  the  old  Siegfried  Line  of 
the  Huns,  and  at  Bullecourt  the  Ludendorf  machine 
made  a  resolute  attack  which  was  repulsed  with  consid- 
erable slaughter.  The  fighting  waned  —  died  down  — 
and  peace  settled  over  the  shot-plowed  fields  of  death. 
The  most  fearful  battle  of  all  history  was  a  matter  of 
the  past. 

The  honors  were  certainly  with  our  friend  "  Bingo," 
for  the  British  retained  about  sixteen  miles  of  enemy 
territory,  that  is,  sixteen  square  miles.  The  Germans 
had  won  back  only  seven  miles,  which  the  British  had 
taken  from  them,  and  they  had  lost  their  far-famed 
Siegfried  Line.  Oambrai  was  a  brilliant  feat  of  arms 
which  reflected  great  credit  upon  the  British  troops,  but 
the  enemy  had  not  been  weakened  in  his  position,  nor 
had  it  undermined  the  personnel  of  the  Germans,  as 
the  losses  were  equally  great  on  the  side  of  the  English. 
It  had  not  weakened  their  morale,  for  the  lines  which 
had  driven  them  out  of  the  Siegfried  Line  and  Eeserve 
Line,  had  been,  in  turn,  checked  and  hurled  towards 
the  sea. 

Yet,  as  the  news  of  this  fearful  slaughter  was  carried 
to  the  four  ends  of  the  earth,  one  name  stood  out  clearly 
against  the  horizon  of  destruction  and  death,  and  that 
was  the  silent,  imperturbable  leader  of  the  Canadian 


SIR  JULIAN  H.  BYNG  307 

Army  Corps — "Bingo"  Byng,  tlio  man  who  wliistled 
when  the  day  looked  darkest  for  the  Allied  cause. 

And,  when  in  191Y,  it  was  reported  that  this  taciturn 
soldier  had  been  made  a  full  General  in  tlie  British  army 
many  a  Canadian  who  had  fought  under  him,  spake  as  in 
the  Bible,  and  said :     "  It  is  well !  " 


THE  DITCH  AT  CAMEKAI 

OR 

THE  MAX  FROM  KAXKAKEE,  IX  KANSAS 

'Twas  the  third  attack  at  Cambrai  and  the  shells  were 

raining  fast, 
The  air  was  charged  with  sulphur  and  the  fumes  of 

poison  gas, 
We  were  lying  facing  Boche-ward,  with  our  masks  upon 

our  eyes, 
When  the  Germans  caught  us  edgewise,  and  wholly  by 

surprise. 

They  shot  at  us  with  Mausers,  and  they  shelled  at  us 

with  Toms, 
They  raided  us  with  Enfields,  and  they  shied  at  us  with 

bombs, 
They  whaled  at  us  with  Johnsons,  and  they  threw  out 

liquid  flame, 
And  they  squirted  deadly  chemicals, —  it  was  a  dirty 

game! 

The  guns  were  booming  all  around,  there  were  wails  and 

shrieks  of  pain, 
The  Boche  were  fighting  fiercely,  like  pirates  of  the 

Main, 
There  was  grumbling  roar  of  musketry,  there  was  rip 

and  zip  of  powder. 
But  above  the  awful  din  and  noise,  my  bunkie's  voice 
rose  louder. 

308 


THE  DITCH  AT  CAMBRAI       309 

"  I'm  from  Kankakee,  in  Kansas,"  said  my  gas-masked 

buddy  smiling; 
"  I'm  from  Kankakee,  in  Kansas,  and  my  blood's  not 

even  riling ; 
I'm  from  Kankakee  in  Kansas,  and  I  want  to  tell  you, 

son 
That  this  show  just  isn't  one  —  two  —  three  when  a 

cyclone  has  begun. 

"  Why,  last  fall  a  wind-jam  struck  our  town,  and  it  blew 
for  twenty  days. 

It  raised  off  every  roof  around,  and  killed  off  all  the  jays, 

It  broke  the  Court-House  steeple,  and  it  landed  in  th' 
crick. 

Where  it  hit  a  great  big  bowlder,  and  smashed  it  some- 
thing slick. 

"  It  plowed  up  forty  building  lots,  it  tore  up  fifty  fliv- 
vers. 
It  cut  down  sixty  forests,  and  it  upset  seventy  rivers; 
It  blew  up  a  whole  mountain,  and  it  killed  the  Deacon's 

pig; 

But  he's  a  vegetarian,  and  didn't  care  a  fig. 

"  It  razed  the  theaters  to  the  sod,  and  maimed  the  dogs 
and  cats, 

It  cleaned  out  all  the  mice  in  town, —  put  the  ki-bosh 
on  the  rats. 

It  ripped  up  all  the  bungalows  —  it  mauled  the  tallest 
man, 

It  blew  up  the  new-made  Ball  Park,  and  killed  the  Old- 
est Fan. 


310  FAMOUS  GENERALS 

"  Yes,  I'm  from  Kankakee,  in  Kansas,  and  I  want  to 

tell  you,  son, 
That,  compared  to  a  Kansas  cyclone,  this  war  is  merely 

fun. 
I  don't  regard  these  Germans  with  aught  but  loving  joy. 
Because  I  come  from  Kankakee,  and  proud  of  it  my 

boy." 

A  sheet  of  flame  now  swept  us,  as  we  lay  with  guna  in 

hand, 
A  whirl  of  gas  descended,  and  blotted  out  the  land. 
And  as  the  bugle  shrilled  "  Advance !  " —  I  heard   a 

gentle  snore. 
My  friend,  indeed,  was  sleeping  —  he'd  been  through 

Hell  before. 


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.•uNiu.vint  youui!;  rr.iiiors  with  historio.vl  porson;ijj;c\s  in  a 
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"  Mr.  Johnston  h.is  dour  f.iithful  work  in  this  volume, 
:u\i\  liis  rrl.ition  ol"  l>.Mtlos.  sioci\s  :\\n\  stnijjglos  of  those 
f.unous  Iniii.uis  with  llir  whitos  l\>r  tho  possession  of 
.\n»rrio.>  is  :\  worthy  .jihlition  to  Tnitcil  St.»t<\s  History." 
—  .Yfjr    Yofk   }t<vin<'   Jou)  )i<iL 

FAMOUS   SCOUTS 

"  It  is  tho  kind  of  ,•>  book  th.tt  will  hrtvo  n  irro;>t  f;«soinj»- 
tion  for  boys  ;ind  younjj;  nion."        Srw   l.otulott   /><i(/. 

FAMOUS    PRIVATEERSMEN    AND    ADVEN- 
TURERS OF  THE  SEA 
•■  rho  t.dos  .iro  nioro  tl\.uv  nioroly   intt-nstintf;  thoy  arc 

ontr.uu'inji.    stirring    tho    blood    with    thrillinjj;    fi>roo."  — 

rUtsburoh    l\\H. 

FAMOUS  FRONTIERSMEN  AND  HEROES  OF 
THE  BORDER 

"The  .uvoimls  .iro  not  only  .mthontio,  but  distinctly 
ro.id.iMo.  ni;>kinji-  ;>  book  of  wido  .ippo.d  io  ;dl  who  love 
tho  history  of  .•(otn.rl  .jdvontnro."       ('/f»v/(iM</    l.oKifr. 

FAMOUS   DISCOVERERS   AND  EXPLORERS 

OF  AMERICA 

"  Vho  book  is  .•in  opitoiuo  of  somo  of  tho  wildost  and 
br.nost    .idvontnros   of   whioh   tho   world   has    known."  — 

lirooklvn    Dtiilu   ^^J(;/<■. 

FAMOUS  GENERALS  OF  THE  GREAT  WAR 

Who  l.od  tho  I'nitod  St.dos  and  Uor  Allios  to  ,i  iUo- 
rit>ns   \'iotory. 

"Tho  pa»r«\s  of  this  book   havo  tho  oharni  of  romanoe 
without    its   iniroality.      Tho  book    iUuniinatos.   with   lifi»- 
liko  portraits,  tho  history  of  Iho  World  W.ir."       Koo/X'.t- 
t^r  Post   Kxprca.-!. 
A  — 4 


T.^inrr'    r^jf.     Vjr'-.'r;    r-p.rjPT.F 


HH.DF.nAFnjE- MARGARET    SERIES 


fi'uh  Vnrgti  fP^ti^h  fMih  tUA^frfUin^,  OUutvnUd, 

'I i<A  tiW-t-.n  •'.'tlmn*',!!  h^f-MA  OJi  a  x«t     .  ■  •   fK/-fi* 

i.f:,r  OF  inijji 

'nU'VA:    MAP^APK'IS 
MA  P  ''/A  P KT    ;  T o : n  F O RT 

IKE   ;yIhRK  YWLk'L  lihi'S 
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Brooklyn  Daily  Eagle. 

FAMOUS  GENERALS  OF  THE  GREAT  WAR 

Who  Led  the  United  States  and  Her  Allies  to  a  Glo- 
rious Victory. 

"The  pages  of  this  book  have  the  charm  of  romance 
without  its  unreality.     The  book   illuminates,   with  life- 
like portraits,  the  history  of  the  World  War."  —  Roches- 
ter Post  Express. 
A  — 4 


BOOKS  FOB    YOUNG   PEOPLE 


HILDEGARDE  -  MARGARET  SERIES 

By  Laura  E.  Richaeds 

Eleven  Volumes 

The  Hildegnrde-Margaret  Scries,  beginning  with 
"  Queen  Hildegarde "  and  ending  witli  "  The  Merry- 
weathers,"  make  one  of  the  best  and  most  popular  series 
of  books  for  girls  ever  written. 

Each  large  12mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated, 

per  volume        .......     $1.50 

The  eleven  volumes  boxed  as  a  set     .         .         ,  $16.50 

LIST  OF  TITLES 
QUEEN  HILDEGARDE 

HILDEGARDE 'S  HOLIDAY 

HILDEGARDE'S    HOME 

HILDEGARDE 'S    NEIGHBORS 

HILDEGARDE'S   HARVEST 

THREE   MARGARETS 

MARGARET   MONTFORT 

PEGGY 

RITA 

FERNLEY  HOUSE 

THE  MERRYWEATHERS 
A— 6 


THE    PAGE    COMPANY'S 


THE  CAPTAIN  JANUARY  SERIES 

By  Laura  E.   Richards 

Each  one  volume,  12mo,  cloth  decorative,  illus- 
trated, per  volume  75  cents 

CAPTAIN    JANUARY 

A   charming   idyl   of   New   England   coast   life,   whose 
success  has  been  very  remarkable. 

SAME.     Illustrated  Holiday  Edition       .  .     $1.35 

MELODY:     The  Stoht  of  a  Child. 

MARIE 

A   companion  to   "Melody"  and    'Captain  January." 

ROSIN    THE    BEAU 

A   sequel  to  "  Melody  "  and  "  Marie." 

SNOW-WHITE;    Or,  The  House  ik  the  Wood. 

JIM     OF     HELLAS;   Or,   In   Durance    Vile,   and   a 
companion  story,  Bethesda  Pool. 

NARCISSA 

And  a  companion  story,  Iv  Verona,  being  two  delight- 
ful short  stories  of  New  England  life. 

"SOME    SAY" 

And  a  companion  story,  Neighbors  in  Cyhcs. 

NAUTILUS 

"'  Nautilus'  is  by  far  the  best  product  of  the  author's 
powers,  and  is  certain  t*^  -achieve  the  wide  success  it  so 

richly  merits." 

ISLA    HERON 

This  interesting  story  is  written  in  the  author's  usual 
charming  manner. 

THE    LITTLE   MASTER 

"  A  well  told,  interesting  tale  of  a  high  character.**  — 
Qaltfornin  Gateway  Gazelle. 
A— 6 


BOOKS  FOR  YOU  NO  PEOPLE 


DELIGHTFUL  BOOKS  FOR  LITTLE 
FOLKS 

By  Laura  E.  Richabds 

THREE  MINUTE  STORIES 

Cloth  decorative,  12mo,  with  eight  plates  in  full  color 
and  many  text  illustrations        .  .  .  .     $1.50 

"  Little  ones  will  understand  and  delight  in  the  stories 

and  poems."  —  Indianapolis  News. 

FIVE  MINUTE  STORIES 

Cloth  decorative,  square  12mo,  illustrated         ,     $1.50 
A    charming    collection    of    short    stories    and    clever 
poems  for  children. 

MORE  FIVE  MINUTE  STORIES 

Cloth   decorative,   square    12mo,   illustrated        .     $L50 
A   noteworthy   collection   of   short   stories   and   poems 

for  children,  which  will  prove  as  popular  with  mothers 

as  with  boys   and  girls. 

FIVE  MICE  IN  A  MOUSE  TRAP 

Cloth   decorative,   square   12mo,   illustrated        .     $1.50 
The  story   of   their  lives   and   other   wonderful  things 
related  by  the  Man  in  the  Moon,  done  in  the  vernacular 
from  the  lunacular  form  by  Laura  E.  Richards. 


A  NEW  BOOK  FOR  GIRLS 

by  Laura  E.  Richards 
HONOR  BRIGHT 

Cloth  decorative,  12mo,  illustrated        .  .  .     $1.65 

No  girl  ever  deserved  more  to  have  a  series  of  stories 
written  about  her  than  does  HONOR  BRIGHT,  the  new- 
est heroine  of  a  talented  author  who  has  created  many 
charming  girls.  Born  of  American  parents  who  die 
in  the  far  East,  Honor  spends  her  school  days  at  the 
Pension  Madeline  in  Vevey,  Switzerland,  surrounded  by 
playmates  of  half  a  dozen  nationalities.  As  are  all  of 
Mrs.  Richards'  heroines,  HONOR  BRIGHT  is  the  high- 
est type  of  the  young  girl  of  America,  with  all  the  in- 
dependence of  character  which  is  American  to  the  core 
in  young  as  in  old. 
A  — 7 


THE  PAGE  COMPANY'S 


THE  BOYS'  STORY  OF  THE 
RAILROAD  SERIES 

By  BuHTOx   E.  Stevexsox 
Each   large  12mo,   cloth   decorative,  illustrated, 
per  volume        .......     $1.65 

THE    YOUNG    SECTION-HAND;     Oe,  The  Ad- 

VEXTURES    OF     AlLEX'     WeST. 

"  The  whole  range  of  section  railroading  is  covered  in 
the  story."  —  Chicago  Post. 

THE  YOUNG  TRAIN  DISPATCHER 

"  A  vivacious  account  of  the  varied  and  often  hazard- 
ous  nature  of  railroad  life."  —  Congregationalist. 

THE  YOUNG  TRAIN  MASTER 

"  It  is  a  book  that  can  be  unreservedly  commended  to 
anyone  who  loves  a  good,  wholesome,  thrilling,  informing 
yarn."  —  Passaic  iS'ews. 

THE    YOUNG    APPRENTICE;     Or,  Allan  West's 
Chum. 
"  The  story  is  intensely  interesting."  —  Baltimore  Sun. 


BOY  SCOUT  STORIES 

By    Bni;wER   Corcorax 
Published  icith   the  approval  of  "  The  Boy  Scouti  of 
America." 

Each,  one  volume,  12mo,  cloth  decorative,  ilhts- 
tratid,  per  vulumi      ......     $1.65 

THE  BOY  SCOUTS  OF  KENDALLVILLE 

The  story  of  a  l)ripiit  younir  factory  worker  who  can- 
not enlist  because  he  has  three  dependents,  but  his 
knowledge  of  woodcraft  and  wig-wagging,  gained  through 
Scout  practice,  enables  him  to  foil  a  German  jilot  to  blow 
up  the  munitions  factory. 

THE  BOY  SCOUTS  OF  THE  WOLF  PATROL 

The  bovs  of  (liiltield  who  were  not  old  enough  to   go 
to  war  found  just  juj  many  tlirills  at  home,  chasing  a 
German  spy. 
A  — 8 


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L  005  484  790  0 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
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AA    000  709  840    3 


